About Actinotia polyodon (Clerck, 1759)
Actinotia polyodon, commonly known as the purple cloud, is a moth species belonging to the family Noctuidae. It is distributed across much of the Palearctic realm, ranging from Europe to Russia and Japan. For this species, also referred to as A. polyodon Cl. (= perspicillaris L.), the forewings are bone-coloured, suffused with olive brown along the costa and inner margin, and show interrupted colouration along the termen. The reniform stigma sits on an olive brown cloud; the costa and the area between veins 2 and 4 are tinged with purplish pink. There is a black streak from the base in the submedian fold, and a double black streak from the inner margin near the base. The reniform stigma is large, pale olive, with a linear centre and a creamy white outline. Towards the wing margin, the veins are dark and form the centers of wedge-shaped marks. Veins 3, 4 and 7, 8 are broadly edged with the base ground colour and cut through the dark fringe. The outer line is marked by dark dots on the veins. The hindwings are bone-coloured, with a broad brownish margin and blackish veins. The larva is red-brown, dotted with black, and has a subdorsal row of oblique brown marks. The dorsal and spiracular lines are yellow, and the larval head is brown. The wingspan of adult Actinotia polyodon ranges from 31 to 36 mm.
