Photo © Keith Tailby

Large Ear

Amphipoea lucens

Checklist Number
73.127 [B&F: 2357]

Verification
Record requires retention of specimen until confirmed, and may require dissection. Consult with CMR if unsure

Classification

Family:Noctuidae
Subfamily:Xyleninae
Genus:Amphipoea
Species:lucens
Authority:(Freyer, 1845)

Local in wet moorland, marshes and mosses, in northern and western Britain, but distribution poorly known owing to confusion with Saltern Ear. Not recorded in Hampshire or on the Isle of Wight to date. Wingspan 30-36 mm. Very similar to Saltern Ear A. fucosa, from which often only separable by dissection of the genitalia, but underside of Large Ear is usually strongly marked with a conspicuous discal spot and a thick, strongly sinuate postmedian line on the hindwing (MBGBI Vol 10). Larva feeds on Purple Moor-grass, over-wintering as an egg.