Short-cloaked moth

The short-cloaked moth (Nola cucullatella) is a moth of the family Nolidae. It is distributed through most of Europe. It was collected in 2008 in the greater Vancouver area of British Columbia (Westham Island). Vancouver is a major shipping port, and is the most probable source area of the introduction

Short-cloaked moth
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Superfamily:	Noctuoidea
Family:	Nolidae
Genus:	Nola
Species:	N. cucullatella
Binomial name
Nola cucullatella (Linnaeus, 1758)

This is a small species (wingspan 15–20 mm) with grey or brown forewings with black basal areas which resemble a short cloak when the moth is at rest. The hindwings are uniform cream or grey. It flies at night in June and July ^[1] and is attracted to light. The slightly hairy larva is reddish-brown with white marks along the back. It feeds on various rosaceous plants including apple, Cotoneaster, hawthorn, pear, Prunus, rowan and whitebeam. The species overwinters as a small larva.

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

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  Fig. 3 larvae after last moult
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  with closed wings

References

• Chinery, Michael Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe 1986 (Reprinted 1991)
• Skinner, Bernard Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles 1984

External links

• Short-cloaked moth on UKmoths
• Short-cloaked moth at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera pages
• Lepiforum.de