Heart and club

The heart and club (Agrotis clavis) is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is distributed throughout the Palearctic ecozone.

Mounted

Heart and club
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Noctuidae
Genus:
Agrotis
Species:
A. clavis
Binomial name
Agrotis clavis
(Hufnagel, 1766)
Synonyms
  • Euxoa corticea

The common name of this species refers to the supposed shapes of the bold dark stigmata on the usually pale forewings. In this species all the stigmata have a rounded shape, contrasting with the elongated claviform stigmata of the much commoner heart and dart. The hindwings are grey, usually much darker than in heart and dart and turnip moth. The wingspan is 35–40 mm. The moth flies at night in June and July and is attracted to light and sugar.

The larva feeds on a variety of herbaceous plants (see list below). The young larva feeds on the leaves of the food plant, later feeding on the roots. It overwinters as a full-grown larva in a cavity in the soil before pupating in the spring.

  1. ^ The flight season refers to the British Isles. This may vary in other parts of the range depending on the weather.

Recorded host plants
Illustrated male
Illustrated female

Full list at reference.[1]

Subspecies
  • A. c. clavis - Europe
  • A. c. corsa - Corsica

References
  1. "Robinson, G. S., P. R. Ackery, I. J. Kitching, G. W. Beccaloni & L. M. Hernández, 2010. HOSTS - A Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants. Natural History Museum, London".
  • Chinery, Michael Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe 1986 (Reprinted 1991)
  • Skinner, Bernard Colour Identification Guide to the Moths of the British Isles 1984
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