Purple thorn | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Geometridae |
Genus: | Selenia |
Species: | S. tetralunaria |
Binomial name | |
Selenia tetralunaria (Hufnagel, 1767) | |
The purple thorn (Selenia tetralunaria) is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1767. It is a species of both Northern Europe and Central Europe. It has a scattered distribution in Britain but is absent from Ireland.
This species is dark purplish brown, paler towards the termen, with a dark spot at the apex of the forewing. Both wings are marked with a comma-shaped white mark. The margins of the wings are angular, giving the species a distinctive shape. Two broods are produced each year and they differ considerably in size and colour. Adults of the spring brood, which fly in April and May, have a wingspan of 46–52 mm. Moths of the summer brood, flying in July and August, are smaller (wingspan 44–46 mm) and darker. The caterpillar is reddish brown, mottled with darker brown, and with pale greyish.
The species flies at night and is attracted to light.
The caterpillar feeds on a variety of trees and shrubs (see list below). [1] The species overwinters as a pupa. [2]
The oak hook-tip is a moth of the family Drepanidae. It is part of the Drepana subgenus Watsonalla. It is found in most of Europe except the far north. It is quite common in England and Wales, but not found in Scotland and only recently in Ireland. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1767.
The buff arches is a moth of the family Drepanidae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1766. It is found throughout Europe and is well distributed in the British Isles except the far north of England and all of Scotland. They live in deciduous and coniferous forests with large populations of their foodplants, but also in gardens and parks.
The small fan-footed wave is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1767.
The juniper carpet 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 found throughout Europe and the Near East, but is rather uncommon and locally distributed, mainly due to its very specific larval food plant.
The mottled umber is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is common throughout much of the Palearctic region. The species was first described by Carl Alexander Clerck in 1759.
The common wave is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in his 1763 Entomologia Carniolica. It is found throughout the Palearctic region and the Near East.
Agrotis segetum, sometimes known as the turnip moth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is a common European species and it is found in Africa and across Eurasia except for the northernmost parts.
The heart and dart is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. A familiar moth to many, it is considered one of the most common of the European region. It occurs throughout the Palearctic realm from Ireland to Japan.
The broad-barred white is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1766. It is distributed throughout Europe and is also found in Turkey, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Kirghizia, Tajikistan, western Siberia and China.
Agrochola circellaris, or The Brick, is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1766. It is distributed throughout most of Europe, Asia Minor and Armenia.
The straw underwing is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1766. It is found from North Africa west through South Europe and Central Europe. In the north it is in parts of Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Estonia. Further east the range stretches from southern Russia and Asia minor to the Caucasus.
Apamea monoglypha, the dark arches, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1766. It is a common, sometimes abundant, European species. It is found in most of Europe except northernmost Fennoscandia and the southern parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Greece. The species is also found in Anatolia, Turkestan, Western Asia and Central Asia, Siberia and Mongolia. In the Alps it is found up to heights of 2,500 meters. The smaller subspecies sardoa is found on Sardinia and Corsica.
Apamea sordens, the rustic shoulder-knot or bordered apamea, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1766. It is distributed throughout Europe, east across the Palearctic to Central Asia and to China and Japan. It also occurs in North America.
Chloroclysta siterata, the red-green carpet, is a moth in the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1767.
Eupithecia innotata, the angle-barred pug, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1767. It ranges from Spain in the west to western Siberia and Central Asia in the east.
Rhodometra sacraria, the vestal, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1767 12th edition of Systema Naturae.
Selenia lunularia, the lunar thorn, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found in Europe except Iberia and Greece; also in Asia Minor, Armenia, SiberiaIssyk-Kul.
Pyrrhia umbra, the bordered sallow, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1766. It is found in all of Europe, east through Anatolia to Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nepal and through central Asia to Japan. In mountains it can be found up to elevations of 1,600 meters.
Cyclophora pendularia, the dingy mocha, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Alexander Clerck in 1759 and it can be found in the Palearctic realm.
Acontia lucida, the pale shoulder, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1766.