Geometridae - Tumblr Posts

Moth of the Week

North Island Lichen Moth

Declana atronivea

The North Island lichen moth or North Island zebra moth is in the family Geometridae. It was first described in 1865 by Frances Walker as Detunda atronivea, which was later changed to the Declana genus. It’s species name “atronivea” can be broken into the Latin words atro meaning black and nivea meaning snowy. Predictably, they are found in the North Island of New Zealand. Finally rounding out the name, the common name “zebra” comes from its black and white disruptive coloration and “lichen” comes from how this species camouflages itself by resting on lichen.

Description The forewings, head, and back are marked by a mottled white and black/dark brown pattern. It is very similar to the South Island lichen moth however, the North Island lichen moths’ wings are more mottled and present a rare form patterning in most: asymmetry. On its gray thorax is a black rectangular mark which also makes it differ from its neighbor. It’s hindwings and antennae are also gray with the hindwings having a gradient darkening towards the lower edge and a dark outline. The hindlegs follow the same gradient while the top two legs are black. Males have larger antennae while females have larger bodies.

Wingspan Range: 4 - 4.5 cm (≈1.6 - 1.8 in)

Diet and Habitat This species eats plants in the Araliaceae family, a family of flowering plants. Two examples of this are Five Finger (Neopanax arboreus) and Lacewood (Pseudopanax crassifolius). Adult moths do not feed.

This species is endemic to, or only found on, New Zealand. It is found exclusively in the North Island:

- Rare in Whanganui region (1913)

- Common around Mount Taranaki and Mount Ruapehu (1913)

- Also found in Wellington, Otaki and Napier

Mating Adults emerge from their cocoons in February and March and the eggs are laid singly in late October. Adult moths presumably mate near these timeframes. They begin green, transition to blue with purple spots in a week, and become a light purple before hatching. Hatching takes 11 days.

Predators This species avoids predation by camouflaging itself against lichen. The black and white pattern of its head, back, and forewings (which hide the hindwings while at rest) blend into the mottled surroundings. Additionally, the pattern creates an effect called disruptive colorations which breaks up the animals outline and makes them harder to spot. This works against potential predators such as birds.

Fun Fact Not only does the wing patterning vary on an individual North Island lichen moth’s forewings but even between moths of the same species.

(Source: Wikipedia, Entomological Society of New Zealand, Moth Identification)

Moth of the Week

Latticed Heath

Chiasmia clathrata

The lattice heath is a part of the family Geometridae, first described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus. Linnaeus however described this moth under the name Phalaena clathrata. This was later changed by Eugen Wehril in 1949 to Semiothisa clathrata tschangkuensis. Then, Malcolm J. Scoble proved it was not in the genus Semiothisa as the Semiothisa species are found only in the Americas. Molecular work has confirmed the this species within the Chiasmia genus.

Description Both the forewings and hindwings are the same color, which can vary from yellow to white depending on the moth. The veins of the wings are traced out in brown and criss crossed by several larger uneven brown lines. This is where the species got its common name “latticed.” The lines vary in thickness to the point some moths’ wings a more almost entirely brown. Close to the edges of the wings are several small brown spots and a brown and white edge on what is called the “outer margin.”

The body and antennae are mottled to match the wings.

Wingspan Range: 20 - 25 mm (≈0.79 - 0.98 in)

Diet and Habitat The larvea of this moth eat hedge bedstraw, yellow bedstraw, clovers, trefoils, lucerne, meadow vetchling, and other legumes. Adult moths do not feed.

This moth is found through Europe and ranges south to the Near East and North Africa and east through Russia, Siberia, northern Iran, Kazakhstan, China, and Korea to Japan. It is very common in the British Isles. It prefers open area habitats such as grassland, moorland, and waste ground.

Mating This species has one to two generations per year in the British Isles. The pupa overwinter and Amadults emerge in May to September.

Predators This moth species is binaural, meaning they fly during the day. However, they are attached to artificial light and can be seen flying at night for these lights. Because of this it is presumable that they are preyed on by birds and bats, two common predators of moths.

Fun Fact This moth has 4 subspecies: Chiasmia clathrata clathrata (Linné), Chiasmia clathrata centralasiae (Krulikowski, 1911), Chiasmia clathrata djakonovi (Kardakoff, 1928), Chiasmia clathrata kurilata (Bryk, 1942).

(Source: Wikipedia)

Moth of the Week

Peppered Moth

Biston betularia

The peppered moth is a part of the family geometridae. It was first described in 1758 by Charles Linnaeus. This moth gains its name from its speckled coloration, which has been studied as an example of natural selection and population evolution.

Description This species has a short body with narrow forewings. The body and wings are the same white base peppered with black dots and irregular black lines. This speckled pattern may vary with some moths having very few spots and others having so many that they look as if they are black with white spots as opposed to white with black. In rare cases, the black on the wings and body is replaced with gray or brown and in even rarer cases the spots are a combination of brown and black/gray. These spots help the moth camouflage against lichen on trees.

The evolution of this moth had been studied extensively during the last two hundred years, which created the term “industrial melanism.” During the Industrial Revolution, air pollution killed off lichen and covered trees in soot. This caused moths with a black spots on white base (typica) coloration to lose their camouflage and die off due to predators. This caused a spike in population for moths with a darker coloration (carbonaria) because they had the camouflage advantage. Once environmental conditions improved, the lighter colored moths once again became the dominant coloration.

The male’s antennae are bipectinate, meaning it has two rows of rami going down either side of a singular flagellum.

Wingspan Range: 45 - 62 mm (≈1.77 - 2.44 in)

Diet and Habitat The caterpillar of this moth eats many trees, shrubs, and small plants such as Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa), Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), Downy (Betula pubescens) and Silver Birch (Betula pendula), limes, sallows, poplars, oaks, Sweet Chestnut (Castanae sativa), Beech (Fagus sylvatica), Bramble (Rubus fruiticosus), Broom (Cytisus scoparius), Black Currant (Ribes nigrum) and Hop (Humulus lupulus).

They have a wide range, being found in China (Heilongjiang, Jilin, Inner Mongolia, Beijing, Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong, Henan, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Gansu, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Fujian, Sichuan, Yunnan, Tibet), Russia, Mongolia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Nepal, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Europe and North America. They prefer habitats of woodland, scrub, hedgerows, parks and gardens.

Mating Depending on its location, this moth can have one or two generations per year. In Great Britain and Ireland, the peppered moth has one generation per year, whilst in south-eastern North America it has two generations per year. They emerge from the pupea in late May to August.

The females attract males with pheromones, which are carried by the wind. Males follow the concentration gradient to find the female. The male guards the female from other males until she lays the eggs. The female lays about 2,000 pale-green ovoid eggs about 1 mm in length into crevices in bark with her ovipositor.

Predators This species is a night-flying moth, making the vulnerable to bats. The males in particular fly every night to search for a female while females fly only the first night.

To protect themselves from birds during the day, this species rests on lichen covered trees to camouflage themselves.

The day time resting positions of this moth have been recorded and studied. This study shows that the peppered moth prefers resting spots that are covered such as below where the trunk and a branch meet, the underside of branches, and leafy twigs.

Additionally, the study found peppered moths with a lighter coloration (typica) blend in better against crustose lichens rather than foliose lichens because birds can see ultraviolet light. The peppered moth reflects UV light while crustose lichens don’t, making them easier to pick out.

Fun Fact The caterpillars of the peppered moth resemble things in both color and size. An experiment published in 2019 done on the caterpillars of the peppered moth showed that the larva (even when blindfolded) could sense the color of the tree they live on and change their body color to match and/or would move to a different twig that was closest in color to their own body.

(Source: Wikipedia, Butterfly Conservation, Max Planck Institute)

Moth of the Week

Chimney Sweeper

Odezia atrata

The chimney sweeper is a part of the family Geometridae. It belongs to a monotypic genus, meaning it’s the only moth species in the genus Odezia, which was created in 1840 by Jean Baptiste Boisduval. It was first described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus.

Description This moth is mostly black with white on the tips of the forewing (called the “apex”) and on the fringe of the forewing.

There have been a few variations in color:

- Odezia atrata pyrenaica, which is found in Pyrenees and central Italy, the wings are “dusted” in a brownish yellow with a stronger color on the forewing.

- Ab. Odezia atrata nigerrima, described by Paul Thierry-Mieg, was a female with no white apex or fringe.

- This moth’s wings may become brown from wear over time.

Wingspan Range: 23–27 mm (≈0.91 - 1.06 in)

Forewing Range: 12–15 mm (≈0.47 - 0.59 in)

Diet and Habitat The caterpillars of this species mainly eats the flowers and seeds of pignut (Conopodium majus).

This moth is distributed in the Palearctic region. In the west, it’s range reaches the Iberian Peninsula through western and central Europe and the British Isles. In the east, they can be found in Sakhalin and the Amur-Ussuri region. I’m the north, this moth reaches central Fennoscandia. Finally, in the south they are found in Italy to the Balkans.

These moths were once very common in Austria, but now the species is a rare occurrence.

They inhabit ditch edges, meadows, bogs, moors, lake sides, chalk downland, limestone grassland, woodland edges and hedgerows in southern Britain

Mating In Belgium and the Netherlands this moth can be seen flying from June to August. It presumably Nate’s during this timeframe.

Predators This moth flies during the day, especially in sunshine. They are presumably preyed on by birds and other daytime predators.

Fun Fact The chimney sweeper can be confused for the Small Blue butterfly (Cupido minimus), which also lives in the Palearctic region, as its wings may become brown from wear.

(Source: Wikipedia, Butterfly Conservation)

Moth of the Week

Canary-shouldered Thorn

Ennomos alniaria

The canary-shouldered thorn was first described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus. It is a part of the family Geometridae. This moth gets its name from its bright yellow coloring.

Description This moth has a bright canary yellow head and thorax. The forewings and hindwings are a ochre yellow with gray speckles. Both the forewings and the hindwings are a scalloped shape and both have a single dot on each wing called “discal spots” with the spots being larger on the hindwing. The forewings have two curved lines going across them.

This moth looks very similar to the Dusky Thorn, August Thorn and September Thorn moths.

Wingspan Range: 34 - 42 mm (≈1.34 - 1.65 in)

Forewing Range: 16 - 20 mm (≈0.63 - 0.79 in)

Diet and Habitat The larva of this species feed off of deciduous trees such as downy birch, silver birch, alder, goat willow, elms, and limes.

This moth’s range stretches from Russia and the Caucuses region in the east to Western Europe in the west and from Fennoscandia in the north to the northern Mediterranean in the south. It has also been introduced into British Columbia. The prefer habitats of woodland, scrub, parks and rural gardens.

Mating This moth has one generation per year. They can be seen flying from July and October and presumably mate during this time.

Predators This species is nocturnal and presumably majorly preyed on my nighttime predators such as bats. However it does use a form a camouflage as larva. The caterpillars of this species resemble dead twigs. This may also help against daytime predators.

Fun Fact The canary-shouldered thorn is attracted to light.

(Source: Wikipedia, Butterfly Conservation, Moths of Britain)

Moth of the Week

Purple Thorn

Selenia tetralunaria

[Right | Left]

The purple thorn (Selenia tetralunaria) is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1767.

Description This moth’s wings are mainly a darker brown with a lighter brown “termen” (“The edge of the wing most distant from the body”). There is a dark spot at the tip of the forewing and a white crescent shaped mark on all the of wings. There is also a black spot on the upper side of the hindwings.

Adult moths’ sizes can vary due to which brood they are a part of:

Spring Brood: 46 - 52 mm (≈1.81 - 2.05 in)

Summer Brood: 44 - 46 mm (≈1.73 - 1.81 in)

Second generation moths are also different in color. Butterfly Conservation says that are paler while Wikipedia says they are darker.

This moth’s caterpillar is reddish brown mixed with darker brown and gray.

Diet and Habitat This species’s caterpillar feeds on a variety of trees and shrubs such as alder (Alnus), birch (Betula), European ash (Fraxinus), apple (Malus), black poplar (Populus), Prunus, pear (Pyrus), oak (Quercus), and rose (Rosa).

This species is distributed in both Northern Europe and Central Europe. It is scattered in Britain, and it is not found in Ireland. They inhabit woodland, scrub, heathland, and rural and suburban gardens.

Mating In the British Isles, there are two generations a year. The spring brood flies from April to May while the summer brood flies from July to August. In more mild years there can be a smaller third generation that flies in late September and October.

Predators This species flies at night and is attracted to light. No listed protections or specific predators.

Fun Fact The purple thorn is similar to the lunar thorn (Selenia lunularia). They can be told apart because the purple thorn has a dark spot on its hindwings.

(Source: Wikipedia [1][2][3], Butterfly Conservation)

Moth of the Week

Large Emerald

Geometra papilionaria

[Right | Middle | Left]

The large emerald is a part of the family Geometridae. The species was first described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus. Its common name references its color and size compared to other emerald moths. Its species name papilionaria is a reference to this moth’s butterfly like appearance according to Wikipedia. Adult moths rest with their wings angled and open like butterflies.

Description Newly emerged moths in this soecies are pale and dark green color with white patterned bands classed “fascia” which fades after a few days according to Wikipedia. The fascia change into broken lines of white, two on the hindwings and three on the forewings. However according to Butterfly Conservation, the large emerald is the one of the few emerald moths whose color does not fade.

Variations in color include:

ab. herbacearia Men.: the lines are “obsolete.” Orginally described as a separate species.

ab. cuneata Burr,: a large “web shaped” white spot in addition to the usual patterns.

ab. subcaerulescens Burr,: a more blue green color than normal.

ab. deleta Burr,: the “distal” (farthest from of the moths body) part of the moth’s white patterning is “obsolete.”

ab. subobsoleta Burr.: the white antemedian line one the foreign is “obsolete.”

ab. alba Gillm: the moth is entirely white and tinged with yellow.

Wingspan of 5.0 - 6.5 cm (≈2.36 - 2.56 in)

The larvae described as “rather stout, rugose” (corrugated) “the surface shagreened” (similar texture to a type of raw hide), “the head slightly notched, the setae” (bristle or hair like structures) “mostly with enlarged summits.” The larvae is a reddish brown when hibernating to match dead leaves and things and turns a green in the spring after hibernation.

Diet and Habitat This moth’s larvae feeds on birch, such as Downy Birch (Betula pubescens) and Silver Birch (Betula pendula), but also on Hazel (Corylus avellana), Alder (Alnus glutinosa), rowan, and possibly Beech (Fagus sylvatica).

This moth is present in the Palearctic region and the Near East. They inhabit deciduous forests, heathlands, marshland, in settlements close to woodland, grassland, well-established hedgerows, gardens, and parks.

Mating This species is seen flying at night from June to August in Britain. The egg is broad at one end and more flattened at the other with an oval like shape.

Predators These moths fly at night and are attracted to light. Adults occasionally fly in the tree tops on warm, sunny days. Larvae camouflage themselves during hibernation, being red-brown to match dead leaves and twigs and green to match spring leaves after hibernation. Not specific predators are listed.

Fun Fact The large emerald moth has 4 subspecies:

G. p. papilionaria: found in Europe to the Urals, Southwest Siberia, Turkey, Caucasus, Transcaucasus

G. p. herbacearia Ménétries: described in 1859, found in West Siberia - Southeast Siberia, Korea

G. p. subrigua: described in 1935 by Proute, found in Japan

(Source: Wikipedia [1][2][3][4], Butterfly Conservation, Amateur Entomologists' Society)