About Amphipyra pyramidea (Linnaeus, 1758)
This species, Amphipyra pyramidea, has a wingspan of 47–54 mm, with females usually being slightly larger than males. Its forewings are brown, marked with a paler fascia and a pale stigma with a dark center. The hindwings are a rich bright copper colour, which gives the species its common name 'copper underwing'. It is very similar to Svensson's copper underwing, Amphipyra berbera, but the two species can usually be identified fairly straightforwardly by comparing forewing markings, details of the labial palps, and the underside of the hindwings. In A. pyramidea, the centre of the hindwing underside has a pale area that contrasts with much darker marginal areas, while the entire underwing of A. berbera is more or less uniform in colour. For further details, see Townsend et al. The larva of A. pyramidea is green with white markings and a pointed hump at the rear end. This species is distributed across the Palaearctic region, including Europe, North Africa, the Near East, Iran, southern Siberia, northern India, Korea and Japan. It is rather common throughout the southern half of Britain.
