Grey chi

The grey chi is a <a href="/facts/Moth/bPrkvkGh">moth</a> of the family <a href="/facts/Noctuidae/ga2GAQnA">Noctuidae</a>. The species was <a href="/facts/Species_description/JyFpxSvJ">first described</a> by <a href="/facts/Carl_Linnaeus/gy5HWkHS">Carl Linnaeus</a> in his 1758 <a href="/facts/10th_edition_of_Systema_Naturae/8H6KJrLJ">10th edition of Systema Naturae</a>. It is distributed throughout Europe, although it is not present in southern <a href="/facts/Spain/bIyrB8EY">Spain</a> and <a href="/facts/Greece/lqHw8bTB">Greece</a>, as well as northern <a href="/facts/Fennoscandia/EtPBtaNe">Fennoscandia</a>. It is also found across the <a href="/facts/Palearctic/DqwBQMyP">Palearctic</a> including <a href="/facts/Central_Asia/rB8k0CyT">Central Asia</a>, to the <a href="/facts/Russian_Far_East/BT7sYGTP">Russian Far East</a> but not in <a href="/facts/Japan/U5mz0SRT">Japan</a>.

This species has grey forewings speckled with black markings which vary in intensity (with the female generally more heavily marked than the male). There is usually a bold cross-shaped black mark in the centre of the wing which has been likened to the Greek letter <a href="/facts/Chi_(letter)/pj4UT8Pf">chi</a> (Χ) and gives the species its common name. The hindwings are white in the male, dirty grey in the female.

Grey chi open-in-new

Grey chi