Moths That
moths fly at
night is understandable. Nevertheless
there are about hundred
species,
which fly by day and sometimes also are beautiful coloured.
A characteristic of moths are the long feelers,
or antennaeare
unclubbed at the end.They are oftencomb-like or feathery, or filamentous. Most
moths have no bright colours (brown, grey, white or black) and often with
patterns of which help camouflage them during the day. Moths
tend to have stout and hairy bodies to conserve heat during the cooler nights.
There’s a coupling of the forewing with the hindwing. Unlike
moths, butterflies generally hold their wings together above their backs when
resting.
Family
geometer moths(Geometridae) A a
large family with 26.000 discribed species.
Catepillars generally have only two pairs of prolegs. They are drawing the
hind end up to the thoracic legs to form a loop, and then extending the
body forward
Subfamily Ennominae.
Tribe Boarmiini.
Engrailed, Small Engrailed
(Ectropis crepuscularia). Tribe Boarmiini. Subfamily Ennominae. Family
geometer moths (Geometridae)
Colour: white, brown white to brown, brown gray. It is a variable species.
The second generation is often slightly smaller and lighter.
The caterpillars have different kinds of deciduous trees as host.
Previously Ectropis bistortata was a separate species. Now most people think
there is one species.
February to November. Two, sometimes three generations. Caterpillar: April to September.
They overwinter as pupa in the soil.
Wingspan 30-40 mm.
The entire Palearctic region and North America.
A pale green spanner, but a few days after hatching the colour changes
into greenish-white to white. It is recognizable by the almost straight
line on the wings. And by the small red flash on wingtips. (Not shown very
well on this photos).
The caterpillar is often found in deciduous trees. The
butterfly especially on sandy soils. May - September. Two generations.
They hibernate as nearly mature larvae.
Wingspan 42 - 55 mm.
Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
A variable geometer moth.
The
middle section of the forewings can be for the most part red, white or yellow
white. The moth on the photo is grey.
The hindwings are always pale grey
The caterpillar lives on many different plants like birch, rumex species, bramble and ling.
The young caterpillar overwinters.
Wingspan 32 - 39 mm
April - September. Two generations.
Palearctic, North America.
A beautifully marked, brown geometer moth. In rest its abdomen is curved
upwards like the Pyralis.
Host plants: Ribes family, currant and hawthorn. But other trees and shrubs.
June - August. One generation.
It hibernates as an egg.
Wingspan: 30 - 37 mm..
Europe.
The
warm brown front wing of the woodworm pug has along the front edge dark spots and a large dark
spot near the front edge. The smaller Eupithecia goossensiata is now seen as the same
species.
Wingspan 21 to 23 mm.
Moths: April to September. One generation.
Caterpillar: July to October. It overwinters as a pupa in the leaf litter.
Much of the Palaearctic region and North America.
Host plants: yarrow, mugwort, Hemp-agrimony, ragwort, goldenrod and heather
(forma goossensiata).
Photo: 27-9-2012.
German: Kreuzkraut-Blütenspanner.
A nice little geometer
moth. I see it often on the window.
Wingspan: 15 - 19 mm.
It flies from March to October. In three or four generations.
They fly from the afternoon until midnight. But they mostly fly in
the twilight.
A huge range of herbaceous plants, shrubs and trees, including ling,
Clematis vitalba, hemp-agrimony, erica and laurel.
It hibernates as a pupa.
Palearctic region, the Near East and North Africa.
When
most of the moths has disappeared, the winter moth flies at night throughout the winter from October to January. These
moths are the males, because the females have no wings. The female crawl
up tree-trunks to await the arrival of males. After
mating, females lay their eggs in the tree. The adults die. The
caterpillars are in spring an important food source for great tits. The
eggs hibernate.
The caterpillars can spin a thread. So the wind can transport it to
another tree. (called
"ballooning," ) In June they use the thread to descend to the ground. There it pupates.
At the end of the Autumn the adults appear. The caterpillars will feed
on any tree or shrub and can be a pest in apple orchards. Formaly there were
bound sticky strings around the trunk. When the females crawled up, they
sicked to the trunk.
A common species in Europe.
Photos females 10-12-2011
German: Kleine Frostspanner French: cheimatobie, Cheimatobie hiemale, phalène
hiémale, petite phalène hiémale
A beautiful golden geometer
moth with fine brown wavy lines on the wings.
In the Netherlands it is especially be found in areas with a sandy
soil.
It flies by day.
In mid-May - early September. Two generations pro year
The caterpillars hibernate and feed on a variety of low-growing plants,
including common
chickweed and Persicaria.
Wingspan: 20 - 25 mm.
Europe, North America and Asia..
It is variable in colour, as you can see at the bottom photo.
German:
Ockergelbe Blattspanner, Brennesselspanner, Löwenzahnspanner French:
Brocatelle d'Or
Because of the white paint
on the wall, it was very difficult to see on a distance. It usually feeds on
crucifers: both cultivated brassicas and wild species such as flixweed,
garlic mustard. It flies in two
generations from Aprilto
September and hibernates as a pupa.
Wingspan: 27 - 31 mm.
The whole Palearctic region, the Near East and North Africa.
This moth I found in July in my greenhouse. When I let it out, I
photographed it through the glass. It didn't move when I took more photos.
Besides this form with a dark band, there are also moths with a light
band. A clear dot on both the front and rear wings.
Host plants: Dandelion, dock, etc.
June to October. Two generations.
Wingspan: 30 to 35 mm.
The caterpillar do you find in July-May on many herbaceous plants. The
young caterpillar overwinters on the ground in the litter layer.
Europe.
Photos 4-7-2009.
Riband Wave (Idaea aversata
ab. remutata) Tribe Sterrhini. Subfamily Sterrhinae. Family
geometer moths (Geometridae)
This
is the form with a light band. (remutata) This form I see most in the
garden. (often on a window frame)
A brownish yellow to brownish white geometer moth. The outer area of the forewing
towards the trailing corner is darkened. The spots of the moth in this picture
aren't very dark.
They love damp locations. I found this moth at the edge of the pond.
The caterpillar hibernates. It can be found on various herbaceous plants.
June - August. One generation, sometimes two generations.
Wingspan: 15 - 20 mm.
Palearctic region and North America.
German: Braungewinkelter Zwergspanner French: la Phalène écussonnée.
Paardenbloemspanner
(Idaea seriata) Tribe Sterrhini. Subfamily Sterrhinae. Familie spanners (Geometridae)
Een Lichtgrijze tot bruingrijze spanner, die geheel donkergrijs bespikkeld
is met een duidelijke stip ongeveer midden op de vleugel.
De rups vind je vooral op de paardebloem en klimop.
Paardebloemspanners komen vooral voor boven zandgrond. Uiteraard op
paardebloemen, maar ook op klimop.
Ik zie ze vaak op het raamkozijn. Maar ze vliegen pas na zonsondergang.
Mei - september. Twee generaties.
Spanwijdte: 19 - 21 mm.
Europa en Noord Azië.
Caterpillars.
Subfamily Ennominae.
Dotted
Border (Agriopis marginaria). Tribe
Bistonini. Subfamily Ennominae. Family geometer moths (Geometridae). Caterpillar
Like for example the winter moth, the female can not fly. It has only rudimentary wings. The male is distinguished by the row of black dots along the back edge of the wings. The
colour and markings are variable.
Wingspan 36 to 42 mm.
Moth: February to April. One generation.
Caterpillar: July to October. Tensioner overwinters as a pupa in the soil.
The caterpillar (April - June) has many host plants: Prunus, birch, oak, etc. The caterpillar resembles the Agriopis aurantiaria but has shorter hair.
Europe German: Graugelbe Breitflügelspanner
Photo 23-5-2011
I have no pictures of the moth. Here you can find many photos. Dotted
Border.
Tribe Caberini.
Common
White Wave (Cabera pusaria). Tribe Caberini. Subfamily Ennominae.Family geometer moths
(Geometridae)
The Common White Wave has three parallel gray lines running over the wings. Sometimes
one or two lines are missing.
Caterpillar host plants: various deciduous trees.
Wingspan 25-32 mm.
Moth: May to September. Two generations.
Caterpillar: May-June. It overwinters as a pupa in a silk between the fallen leaves.
Photos 25-8-2010. In goldenrod.
I have no pictures of the moth. Here you can find many photos Common
White Wave.
Nederlands /
Dutch
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