Orthosia miniosa
# Orthosia miniosa

Orthosia miniosa, the blossom underwing, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is found in Europe.

## Technical description and variation

The wingspan is 31–36 mm. The length of the forewings is 15–17 mm. Forewing sandy rufous, black speckled, median area generally deeper rufous: lines browner, edged with pale, the outer dentate lunulate; stigmata with yellowish outlines and grey centres: submarginal line rufous and yellowish: hindwing white, rosy tinged along the termen; cellspot, outer line, and veins sometimes well-marked. Form rubricosa Esper is the form in which the red of the median area is most emphasised. Form pallida Tutt is greyish ochreous, with hardly a vestige of rufous: in virgata Tutt, while the basal and marginal areas are grey, the median space is rufous.

## Biology

The moth flies in one generation from the end of March to mid-May.

Larva pale or dark blue grey; dorsal and subdorsal lines yellow; the sides black with a yellow spiracular line, marked with a white spot on each segment; head whitish with coarse blackish mottling. The larvae feed on various trees and shrubs, mainly oak.

