Clouded border

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Clouded border
Lomaspilis marginata - Keila.jpg
Dorsal view
Geometridae - Lomaspilis marginata.JPG
Ventral view
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Geometridae
Genus: Lomaspilis
Species:
L. marginata
Binomial name
Lomaspilis marginata
Synonyms
  • Abraxas marginataAlphéraky, 1897
  • Lomaspilis marginata amurensisBeljaev & Vasilenko, 2002

The clouded border (Lomaspilis marginata) is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is distributed across most of Europe to the Urals, western and central Siberia, Transbaikalia, Kazakhstan, Tian-Shan, northern Mongolia and parts of the Near East.

Contents

Larva Lomaspilis marginata larva.jpg
Larva

Description

This is a very distinctive species with white wings marked with black blotches around the margins. The amount of black varies, with the males usually (though not always) having more extensive black areas than the females. Occasionally almost entirely white or black individuals are seen, although this is rare. The wingspan is 24–28 mm. Lomaspilis marginata is extremely variable. Linnaeus's form has complete black border to both wings, also on the forewing additional spots or patches at base and middle of costa.

Aberrations:

[3] [4]

It flies at night in June and July and is attracted to light.

The egg is yellow green, with hexagonal reticulation. The larva, pale green with darker dorsal lines and a purplish anal spot, usually feeds on aspen and sallow but has also been recorded on birch, hazel and poplar. The species overwinters as a pupa, sometimes remaining in this form for up to four years.

Subspecies

  1. ^ The flight season refers to the British Isles. This may vary in other parts of the range.

References

  1. Prout, L.B. 1912–16. Geometridae. In A. Seitz (ed.) The Macrolepidoptera of the World. The Palaearctic Geometridae, 4. 479 pp. Alfred Kernen, Stuttgart.
  2. Peder Skou , Pasi Sihvonen,2019 In: Axel Hausmann (Hrsg.): The Geometrid Moths of Europe. 1. Auflage. Volume 5: Ennominae 1 Brill ISBN   9789004252202
  3. Patrice Leraut: Geometrid moths. In: Moths of Europe. 1. Auflage. Band 2. NAP Editions, 2009, ISBN   978-2-913688-09-4 in English
  4. Wikisource:The Moths of the British Isles Second Series/Chapter 10#263