Photo © Tim Norriss

Mathew's Wainscot

Mythimna favicolor

Checklist Number
73.292 [B&F: 2200]

Verification
Record requires retention of specimen until confirmed, and may require dissection. Consult with CMR if unsure

Classification

Family:Noctuidae
Subfamily:Hadeninae
Genus:Mythimna
Species:favicolor
Authority:(Barrett, 1896)

Now considered to be conspecific (at best, a coastal form of) Common Wainscot M. pallens

Previous entry: Nationally scarce (Nb) in saltmarshes in parts of southern England and south-eastern England, predominantly coastal. Very locally common in salt-marshes from southern Suffolk to East Kent and from West Sussex to western Hampshire. There are isolated records from the Isle of Wight and inland from the New Forest, Hampshire, Surrey and East Anglia. In Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight is more or less confined to coastal salterns where it replaces M. pallens. Wingspan 34-42 mm. The most likely confusion species is Common Wainscot M. pallens, which is pale straw-coloured to reddish ochreous with the whole wing finely striate, while M. favicolor is pale buff through shades of fulvous to rich red-brown with forewing smooth and satiny, without striation (MBGBI Vol 9). Larva feeds on common saltmarsh-grass and probably on other grasses, as the female will lay on cock's-foot or annual meadow-grass and larvae can be reared successfully on either.

No map available.