Mythimna ferrago (Fabricius, 1787)

Host plants:
Grasses (Poaceae).

Habitat:
The common species inhabits extensively managed or fallow grasslands of all kinds such as dry nutrient-poor grasslands, fens, wet clearings, embankments, edges in forests and open land as well as field margins. In the Alps (at least in the southern and central parts), Mythimna ferrago is widespread up to about 2000m. It is particularly common even in the hot steppe slopes of Valais.

Life cycle:
The moths fly from June to August and the caterpillar hibernates. It is found in the autumn from September to November and in the spring especially from late March to May. At high altitude, it is still to observe in late June. In the autumn, I found it, for example, in October on Deschampsia caespitosa and Calamagrostis epigejos (Swabian Alb) or as late as November on Bromus erectus and Arrhenaterum elatius (Upper Rhine 2011).

Remarks:
Mythimna ferrago occurs from Morocco across large parts of non-polar Europe and temperate Asia to the Altai.