Heart and Club

Taxobox
name = Heart and Club

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image_width = 250px
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regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Insecta
ordo = Lepidoptera
familia = Noctuidae
genus = "Agrotis"
species = "A. clavis"
binomial = "Agrotis clavis"
binomial_authority = Hufnagel, 1766The Heart and Club ("Agrotis clavis") is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is distributed throughout Europe.

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 ref|flight_season 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.

#Note|flight_season"The flight season refers to the British Isles. This may vary in other parts of the range."

Recorded host plants

*"Brassica oleracea"
*"Chenopodium" - Goosefoot
*"Lactuca" - Lettuce
*"Polygonum" - Knotgrass
*"Rumex"
*"Spinacia" - Spinach
*"Trifolium" - Clover
*"Zea" - Maize

Subspecies

* "A. c. clavis" - Europe
* "A. c. corsa" - Corsica

External links

* [http://www.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/noctuoidea/noctuidae/noctuinae/agrotis/index.html#clavis Heart and Club at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera pages]

References

*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