| Operophtera fagata | |
|---|---|
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| Male | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Geometridae |
| Genus: | Operophtera |
| Species: | O. fagata |
| Binomial name | |
| Operophtera fagata (Scharfenberg, 1805) | |
Operophtera fagata, the northern winter moth, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is widespread through much of Europe.
This species’ range extends through central and northern Europe to southeast Russia. It is widespread in the UK and Northern Ireland.
In Europe, this species prefers common beech woodland, but will also use birch. [1] The larvae feed on apple (Malus), plum, cherry ( Prunus ), birch (Betula), lime (Tilia), beech (Fagus). [2]
The oval egg is blunt at the micropyle end and has a strongly reticulated surface. It is pale green at first, becoming pale orange. [3]
The larva is initially greenish black with white lines along the body and black or dark brown head. It gradually becomes more yellowish green. [4]
The pupa is yellowish brown and larger than in O. brumata. The cremaster comprises a short, stout shaft with long divergent spikes. [3]
The adult male measures up to 33 mm in body length. The forewings are silvery greyish brown with dark brown crossbands. The hindwing is yellowish white. The head and body are pale yellowish brown. The female is smaller and has greatly reduced wings, so is flightless.
This species morphologically resembles its congener Operophtera brumata , but males of O. fagata are slightly larger and do not have the brown underwings characteristic of Operophtera brumata. Microscopically, there are also clear differences in the morphology of the genitalia between the two species. In O. fagata, the uncus is more pointed with a broader and flatter base that is more triangular in O. brumata (Kellner, 2005). Although co-occurring in the same habitat with overlapping flight times, the two species do not interbreed, which is probably because females produce species-specific pheromones that attract males of only their own species. [5]
From mid-May until early June, mature larvae fall from trees to the woodland floor to pupate in the soil. They remain there until October and November when adults emerge to reproduce. [6] Wingless females crawl up tree trunks, while males fly in swarms at night to encounter females to mate with. Females lay eggs on twigs close to leaf buds in November, where they overwinter. [6] In the UK, adults are active October - December. The larvae hatch April – May, which in Europe happens at the same time as birch leaves come out. [7]
The larva of this moth can be a serious pest of fruit trees in northern Britain by attacking the foliage and blossom. [3] Damage to fruit trees by defoliation is more likely when birch trees, a natural host plant, are growing nearby. [8] In Northern and Central Europe, the larva is a serious defoliator of beech and birch plantations and can sometimes destroy whole seedling plantations. [9]
The winter moth is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is an abundant species of Europe and the Near East and a famous study organism for evaluating insect population dynamics. It is one of very few lepidopterans of temperate regions in which adults are active in late fall and early winter. The adults use endothermy for movement in these cold temperatures. The female of this species is virtually wingless and cannot fly, but the male is fully winged and flies strongly. After the initial frosts of late fall, the females emerge from their pupa, walk to and up trees, there emitting pheromones in the evening to attract males. Fertilized, she ascends to lay, on average, around 100 eggs. Typically, the larger the female moth is the more eggs she lays.
The pale November moth is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Allen in 1906. It is a fairly common species in Western Europe including the British Isles.
The autumnal moth is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Moritz Balthasar Borkhausen in 1794. It is found throughout the Palearctic region and the Near East and has a much wider distribution than its two close relatives. In Sápmi (Lapland), in some years the numerous autumnal moth larvae defoliate square miles of birch forests on mountains.
The scalloped oak is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
The dotted border is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1776. It is found throughout Europe, except the far north, and the Near East.
Campaea margaritata, commonly known in the UK as the light emerald, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1767 12th edition of Systema Naturae. It is widely distributed throughout Europe, the Near East and North Africa. The habitat is mixed forests including parks and large gardens.
Athous haemorrhoidalis is a species of European and Asian click beetles in the genus Athous. Several variations are recognized.
Mythimna unipuncta, the true armyworm moth, white-speck moth, common armyworm or rice armyworm, is a nocturnal agricultural pest belonging to the family Noctuidae. This moth is also commonly referred to by the scientific name Pseudaletia unipuncta. The species was first described by Adrian Hardy Haworth in 1809. Mythimna unipuncta is found in the Americas and in parts of Europe, Africa and Asia. Its original distribution is North and South America. It has been introduced to other places from there. They are known as armyworms because the caterpillars move in lines as a massive group, like an army, from field to field, damaging crops.
Alsophila aescularia, the March moth, is a species of moth of the family Geometridae. It is found throughout Europe and can be a pest of fruit trees.
Hoplodrina blanda is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in the Palearctic realm.
Synanthedon myopaeformis is a moth of the family Sesiidae and the order Lepidoptera. In Europe it is known as the red-belted clearwing and in North America as the apple clearwing moth. The larvae create galleries under the bark of fruit trees, especially old trees with damaged trunks. During this process, the larvae cause significant damage to host trees. Particular attention has been paid to the damage they cause to apple trees. Their status as a pest of apple orchards has led to many research projects aimed at controlling populations of the moth. This moth is native to Europe, the Near East and North Africa. Recently, the moth was introduced into North America, being first detected in Canada in 2005. There are several organisms that threaten the larvae, including parasitoids, nematodes, and bacteria.
Calliteara pudibunda, the pale tussock, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The Dutch common name for the moth (Meriansborstel) comes from the butterfly and insect painter Maria Sibylla Merian. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is found in Asia and Europe.
The March dagger moth is a moth of the subfamily Chimabachinae. It is found in Europe and was first described by Michael Denis & Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775.
Operophtera is a genus of moths in the family Geometridae erected by Jacob Hübner in 1825.
Operophtera bruceata, the Bruce spanworm, hunter's moth, or native winter moth is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by George Duryea Hulst in 1886. It is found from coast to coast in southern Canada and the northern parts of the United States.
Paradarisa consonaria, the brindled square spot or square spot, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found in north and central Europe and east to south-eastern Siberia and Japan.
Cyzenis albicans is a species of fly in the family Tachinidae. A parasitoid, it lays its eggs on leaves of oak, maple, birch and other trees, so that when the leaves are consumed by the larvae of the host winter moth, the eggs hatch inside the larvae. The fly is native to Europe and Asia but has been introduced into North America as a biological control agent of the invasive winter moth.
Lymantria dispar dispar, commonly known as the gypsy moth, European gypsy moth, or North American gypsy moth, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae that is of Eurasian origin. It has a range that extends over Europe, Africa, and North America.
Agrypon flaveolatum is a species of parasitoid wasp belonging to the family Ichneumonidae described by Johann Ludwig Christian Gravenhorst in 1807. It is a parasite of the larva of the winter moth, and has been used in biological pest control to control this moth, whose larvae feed on foliage and defoliate trees.
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