Large yellow underwing

Noctua pronuba

The large yellow underwing is a moth, the type species for the family Noctuidae. It is an abundant species throughout the Palearctic ecozone, one of the most common and most familiar moths of the region. In some years the species is highly migratory with large numbers appearing suddenly in marginal parts of the range.
Noctua pronuba Eggs Tiny, silver-gray eggs found on a leaf in a rural backyard https://www.jungledragon.com/image/72490/noctua_pronuba_eggs.html Geotagged,Large yellow underwing,Noctua,Noctua pronuba,Noctua pronuba eggs,Summer,United States,eggs,moth eggs

Appearance

This is a quite large and heavy moth with a wingspan of 50–60 mm. The forewings are quite variable from light brown to almost black. The darker individuals often have a pale streak along the costa. The hindwings are bright orange-yellow with a black sub-terminal band. As with other "Noctua" species, this contrast of bland-on-land and bright-in-flight is used to confuse potential predators. This species flies at night from July to September and is attracted to light, sometimes in huge numbers. It will also visit flowers such as "Buddleia", ragwort, and red valerian.
Noctua pronuba Eggs Tiny, silver-gray eggs found on a leaf in a rural backyard https://www.jungledragon.com/image/72489/noctua_pronuba_eggs.html Geotagged,Large yellow underwing,Noctua pronuba,Summer,United States

Distribution

It is also present in Europe, North Africa, Canary Islands, Middle East, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, northwest India, Russia, Novosibirsk Oblast, Caucasus, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. It was introduced into North America at Nova Scotia. Since then it has increased its range considerably and has been recorded for Maine in 1985, and then spread throughout the northeast from Vermont and Massachusetts to New Hampshire, New York, Maryland, and Connecticut. It was first recorded in Pennsylvania in 1998, North Carolina and west to Colorado, Wyoming, California, and British Columbia. The latest new record is from Alaska.
Large Yellow Underwing Caterpillar Plump, yellow caterpillar with brown dashes on its abdominal segments. It had a tan head capsule. It was 4-5cm long. This caterpillar was alive, but inactive...It was also much more squishy and unresponsive than most caterpillars, so I was thinking that it may have been affected by the cold temperatures, and possibly dying. In this shot, you can see that the caterpillar is defecating and has frass coming out of its rear. Caterpillar,Fall,Geotagged,Large Yellow Underwing,Large Yellow Underwing Caterpillar,Large yellow underwing,Noctua pronuba,United States,larva,moth caterpillar,moth larva,moth week 2018

Behavior

The larva is green or brown with two rows of black dashes along the back. This is one of the notorious "cutworms", causing fatal damage at the base of virtually any herbaceous plant, sometimes severing it completely. This ubiquitous species is one of the most hated of garden pests. The species overwinters as a larva and feeds on mild days throughout the winter.
Noctua pronuba Just making sure it's not missing in this year's list ;o) Jane's garden,Large yellow underwing,Moth,Moth Week 2021,Noctua,Noctua pronuba,nl: Huismoeder

Food

*"Allium"
⤷ "Beta" - beet
⤷ "Brassica"
⤷ "Calendula" - marigold
⤷ "Chrysanthemum"
⤷ "Dahlia"
⤷ "Daucus" - carrot
⤷ "Dianthus" - carnation
⤷ "Fragaria" - strawberry
⤷ "Freesia"
⤷ "Gladiolus"
⤷ "Hieracium" - hawkweed

⤷ "Lactuca" - lettuce
⤷ "Lycopersicon" - tomato
⤷ "Plantago" - plantain
⤷ "Poaceae" - grasses
⤷ "Primula"
⤷ Rhubarb
⤷ "Solanum" - potato
⤷ Spinach
⤷ "Taraxacum" - dandelion
⤷ "Viola" - sweet violet
⤷ "Vitis" - grape

See Robinson, G.S. et al.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.