Apamea unanimis (Hübner, 1813)

Host plants:
The caterpillars feed in the field probably only on the grasses Phalaris arundinacea and Phragmites australis.

Habitat:
Apamea unanimis colonizes wetlands, riparian forests, bog woodland, wet meadows, reed beds and stream edges or ditches with stocks of the host plants.

Life cycle:
The caterpillar develops primarily from late July to October. It is later on purely nocturnal and hides during the day in older instars on the ground. Just once, I tapped a caterpillar from dense Phalaris during the day in October. The young caterpillars are easily tappable during the day in August. They live between spun grass leaves. At night, the older caterpillars are easy to find with a pocket lamp. They feed then freely suspended from the grass leaves. Over the course of November, the caterpillar crawls under moss, bark or soil and overwinters fully-grown. Pupation takes place in the spring without re-feeding. The moths fly mainly from May to July (rarely already in the end of April) with a focus in June.

Endangerment factors:
Despite its dependence on wetlands and the resulting narrowing of their habitats by destruction in a big way, Apamea unanimis is still not endangered too much due to its ability to use even small habitats and the host plant's nutrients love.

Remarks:
The distribution ranges from Central Europe to the Amur. In the far south of Europe it seems to be missing. Apamea unanimis also occurs in N-America.