Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing

Noctua janthe · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Noctuidae

Damages trees, gardens or crops. The caterpillars feed on a variety of deciduous trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants, so they can damage garden and orchard plants.

Source: Wikipedia

Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
Photo: Donald Hobern, CC BY

The moth has a wingspan of about 30 to 40 mm and forewings 16 to 20 mm long. Its forewings range from bright ochre to gray or brown, sometimes with a reddish or light-purple tint, and the hindwings are orange-yellow with a broad black band. Adults fly in a single generation from late June through September.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Forewing colour varies from bright ochre to gray or brown, often showing a reddish or light-purple tint. The hindwing is orange-yellow with a wide black band at the edge.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Wingspan ranges between 30 and 40 mm. Forewing length is 16 to 20 mm.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

It occurs across Europe and North Africa.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Caterpillars feed on many deciduous trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

The species produces one generation of adults that fly from late June to September.

Source: Wikipedia

When you see it

Adults are on the wing from late June through September.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Its native range includes Europe and North Africa.

Source: Wikipedia

Lookalikes

It can only be reliably separated from Noctua janthina by examining the genitalia. Some authors treat Noctua janthe and Noctua janthina as the same species.

Source: Wikipedia

Questions people ask

What do the caterpillars eat?

They feed on a range of deciduous trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants.

Source: Wikipedia

How can I tell this species apart from similar moths?

It can only be distinguished from Noctua janthina by examining the genitalia.

Source: Wikipedia

Is this moth a problem for my garden?

The larvae feed on many garden trees and shrubs, so they can cause damage to garden plants.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Noctuidae)

Ipsilon Dart MothIpsilon Dart MothAgrotis ipsilonDamages trees, gardens or cropsFall Armyworm MothFall Armyworm MothSpodoptera frugiperdaDamages trees, gardens or cropsArmy Cutworm MothArmy Cutworm MothEuxoa auxiliarisDamages trees, gardens or cropsLarge Yellow UnderwingLarge Yellow UnderwingNoctua pronubaDamages trees, gardens or cropsSilver ΥSilver ΥAutographa gammaAmerican DaggerAmerican DaggerAcronicta americanaCan irritate skin

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noctua_janthe

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

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