Insects of Britain and Ireland: the genera of Lepidoptera-Noctuidae

DELTA home

L. Watson and M. J. Dallwitz

Deltote R.L.

Bankia Guenée.

Adults. Head loosely scaled. Head without a frontal tuft. Eyes glabrous; not ciliated. Antennae of males ciliate. Labial palps medium; ascending.

Wingspan 24–28 mm. Head and thorax olive green and white-sprinkled, the abdomen coloured like the hind-wings. Forewings olive green; green to greenish tinged; patterned transversely; the patterning well marked (with two silvery-white bars); reniform undefined; orbicular undefined; claviform undefined. Hindwings whitish, whitish-fuscous, fuscous, grey, and yellowish (sprinkled grey); plain to terminally darkened (the veins darker); exhibiting vein 5. Vein 5 of the hindwings strong; arising nearer to vein 4 than to vein 6; convergent on vein 4 near their bases. Thorax slightly crested (posteriorly). Middle tibiae without spines. Posterior tibiae with spines; with appressed scales. Abdomen crested to not crested.

Living adults found in June.

Larvae, pupae. Larvae feeding on grasses; pupating on the surface of the ground.

British representation. 1 species; English Midlands and Ireland (local, in fens); bankiana (The Silver Barred).


Illustrations. • D. bankiana (Silver-barred), with other Acontiinae and Heliothidinae: Newman. • Acontiinae, Amphipyrinae, Hadeninae and Heliothidinae: Kirby.

