Photo #21279: Amphipoea oculea

Imago

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Base gallery. Upperside. Alive insect.

Photo, and identified by: Irina Nikulina. Image redone at the website. Tentative identification

Date and time, location shooting/catching: 2008-08-01 12:50:00, Russia, Kaluzhskaya reg., Borovskiy district.

Comments on this image

21.02.2013 21:36, Alexandr Zhakov

I suggest moving this to "uncertain". I might be saying an obvious truth, but Amphipoea species can't be identified by photo. I assume it's possible to get a sure ID when having a collected specimen (and moth size appears evident to compare to others) with a detailed and certain biotope, and a deep knowledge of local species. Last winter I was asked by a colleague to recheck already identified species of this kind, so there were just 1 mistake out of 8 specimens of three different genus.
The very name Amphipoea oculea (Linnaeus, 1761) ssp. nictitans Bkh is not quite correct since there is as well synonym nictitans (Linnaeus, 1767). A very good lepidoptera website clearly notes that Amphipoea species can't be surely identified without detailed examination of genitalia: http://www.lepiforum.de/cgi-bin/lepiwiki.pl?Amphipoea_Oculea. I want this website will be as much good. There are 4 species of this genus in your hood, don't know exactly which are in Kaluga region. Three at least. If this one was identified by professional entomologist that knows local Noctuidae, then there is more certainty, but if it was done by photo solely, then again, better to move it to "uncertain".