Large Yellow Underwing
Noctua pronuba
Insecta
COMMON
Stats
- Lifespan
- A few weeks
- Size
- Large
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Activity
- Nocturnal
- Social
- Solitary
- Biome
- Temperate grassland
- Range
- Eurasia
- Movement
- Flight
- Breeding
- Egg-laying
- Defense
- Camouflage
- Status
- Common
About
One of the most abundant moths in the Palearctic, the Large Yellow Underwing flashes vivid yellow hindwings with a bold black border when startled — a burst of warning colour that vanishes the moment it lands and folds its wings. Its caterpillars, known as cutworms, feed on plant roots at night and are among the most widespread agricultural pests in the Northern Hemisphere.
Life cycle
- 1.eggA tiny ribbed egg laid on the underside of a host-plant leaf, hatching within days.
- 2.caterpillarA voracious caterpillar feeds and molts through several instars, growing rapidly.
- 3.cocoonA silk cocoon spun in leaf litter or soil while the body remodels into a winged adult.
- 4.mothA winged adult with feathery antennae and scaled wings, most active after dark.
Learn more
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Lepidoptera
- Family
- Noctuidae
- Genus
- Noctua
- Species
- Noctua pronuba