Insecta : Lepidoptera : NoctuidaeButterflies and Moths

Nonagria typhae (Thunberg, 1784)

Bulrush Wainscot

Nonagria typhae

Description: Wingspan 40-54 mm. Adults can be variable in colour. Forewing colour ranges from light reddish ochreous through to pale straw. Stigmata are poorly defined and inconspicuous. Antemedian and post median lines comprise a series of small black dots, the former usually having three and the latter considerably more. There is a series of small wedge-shaped marks in the termenal area of the forewing. Hindwings pale white with a darker termenal suffusion and a weakly marked discal spot. Mid-July to mid-October.

World Distribution: Eurasiatic: common and widely distributed in western Europe from Portugal to southern Fennoscandia.

Irish Distribution: Widely distributed and commonly encountered across southern counties. Absent from most of the north beyond Lough Neagh. It may have escaped detection in some localities especially in fens where its foodplant is common.

Ecology: A species associated with a variety of habitats including fens, ditches and marshy localities where the foodplant is common. Adults come to light in small numbers and rest by day concealed among the stems of reedmace. It is often found well away from its normal breeding area and is therefore very quick to colonize new localities.

Key Identification Features:

  • Small black dots on forewings
  • Wedged shaped marks at the termenal area of forewings
  • Pale white hindwings

Distribution Map from NBN: Nonagria typhae at National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.

iNaturalist: Nonagria typhae at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

 Thompson, R. & Nelson, B. (2023). Nonagria typhae. (Thunberg, 1784). [In] Moths of Northern Ireland.
https://habitas.org/moths/species.php?item=6474. Accessed on 2026-11-02.