Cucullia lactucae
Encyclopedia
The Lettuce Shark is a species of moth
of the Noctuidae
family. It is found in most of Europe
, Turkey
, the Altai mountains and the Caucasus
.
The wingspan
is 44-53 mm. Adults are on wing from May to July in one generation in most of the range. In the south, there is a second generation with adults on wing from August to September.
The larvae feed on Compositae species, Sonchus arvensis
, Sonchus asper
, Lactuca sativa and Lactuca muralis
.
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
of the Noctuidae
Noctuidae
The Noctuidae or owlet moths are a family of robustly-built moths that includes more than 35,000 known species out of possibly 100,000 total, in more than 4,200 genera. They constitute the largest family in the Lepidoptera....
family. It is found in most of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, the Altai mountains and the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
.
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is 44-53 mm. Adults are on wing from May to July in one generation in most of the range. In the south, there is a second generation with adults on wing from August to September.
The larvae feed on Compositae species, Sonchus arvensis
Sonchus arvensis
Sonchus arvensis is a medicinal plant. It is an invasive species in the Great Lakes region and was first sited in 1865.-External links:** Photos, Drawings, Text...
, Sonchus asper
Sonchus asper
Sonchus asper is an annual plant with spiny leaves and yellow flowers resembling those of the dandelion. The leaves are bluish-green, simple, lanceolate, with wavy and sometimes lobed margins, covered in spines on both the margins and beneath...
, Lactuca sativa and Lactuca muralis
Lactuca muralis
Lactuca muralis , or Mycelis muralis Dumort. is a perennial flowering plant of the genus Lactuca in the family Asteraceae, subfamily Cichorioideae, tribe Cichorieae....
.