Apamea rubrirena

Apamea rubrirena is a moth of the family Noctuidae.

Distribution
This species is present from northern and western Europe, east through Russia and Asia to Japan and Korea. It is also present on the Kuril Islands, the Aleutian Islands and has been reported from Alaska for the first time in 1989.

Habitat
These moths colonize montane to subalpine coniferous forests, at an elevation up to 2400 m above sea level. In Europe they especially occur in the Alps and in lower mountains, while in Russia they can be found in the taiga.

Description
Apamea rubrirena has a wingspan of 40–51 mm. These moths are extraordinarily variable in terms of color, wing shape and size. They usually have head and thorax black-brown, with some white hairs and a meta-thopracic rufous crest. The basic color of the forewings vary from pale orange to reddish brown or blackish brown, with reniform rufous patches and transversal indistinct or whitish wavy lines. The hind wings are monochrome, light gray-brown, with the veins clearly protruding. Tarsi are black with whitish rings.

Biology
The caterpillars overwinter and pupate in May or June of the following year. Adults are on wing from fly from mid or late June to August and sometimes September in favourable conditions. There is one generation per year meaning it is a univoltine species.

The larvae feed on a various grasses, including Festuca altissima and Calamagrostis arundinacea. Adults are nocturnal and have been found taking nectar from Rubus, Cirsium oleraceum, Silene vulgaris and Phyteuma.