| Mullein wave | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Geometridae |
| Genus: | Scopula |
| Species: | S. marginepunctata |
| Binomial name | |
| Scopula marginepunctata | |
| Synonyms | |
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Scopula marginepunctata, the mullein wave, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It was described by Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1781. It is found throughout Europe. [2]
Scopula marginepunctata occurs in Europe from the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Ural mountains in the east. In the north, the range extends to the south coast of England, the southern Netherlands and the German Baltic Sea coast. However the species is missing in parts of northern Germany. There are isolated occurrences on Bornholm, Skåne and the southern Baltic. In the south, the range extends in North Africa from Morocco in the west to Egypt. The distribution ranges from there further over the Middle East, Asia minor, the Caucasus, northern Iran, Central Asia and Mongolia.
The wingspan is 25–28 millimetres (0.98–1.10 in). The length of the forewings is 12–15 millimetres (0.47–0.59 in). The second generation is often smaller and the moths reach only about 18 mm wingspan. Colour and wing pattern vary. The base colour is off-white to light brown, and the wings are strong dark over dusted with dark scales. In the Swiss Canton of Ticino darkened forms occur, which were formerly called subspecies insubrica. The pattern of the wing is dark grey to dark brown, depending on the ground colour. The interior cross line and median bands are usually little developed. The medium band is relatively wide, if present, but frequently washed out. The interior cross line is often reduced to a row of dots. Usually only the outer cross line is significantly developed and almost always very pronounced and jagged, the tips of the spikes are even darker highlighted towards the marginal field. The front edge itself may be slightly darker than the ground colour. In the marginal field, usually four to five tooth-shaped, slurred stains are present, two penultimate often characteristic close. The intensity of each cross line may be slightly different on forewings and hindwings. Marginal stains are usually present. Discal flecks are almost always present on the front as well as on the rear wings.
In North Africa the subspecies Scopula marginepunctata argillacea replaces the nominate. It is light brown with relatively weak pattern.
In the north of Iran, Central Asia and Mongolia, the subspecies Scopula marginepunctata terrigena occurs. It is slightly larger than the nominate with a 29 millimetres (1.1 in) wingspan. The marginal field and medium fields are wide and slightly dark brown in colour.
The egg is elongated oval and flattened at the top. It is initially coloured light yellow, just before hatching it turns stained red. The outside shows strong longitudinal ribs that intersect with slightly weaker cross ribs. The caterpillar is relatively long and slender and gets slightly thinner forward. The segments are clearly constricted. It is grey-yellow to grey-brown coloured with a dark dorsal line. The dorsal line is accompanied by black dots. The abdominal side is slightly darker, the spiracles are coloured black. The pupa is light brown coloured with slightly greenish wing sheaths. The head and posterior end are a little darker. The segments are relatively deep, the cremaster is relatively short and studded with bristles.
The moth flies in two generations from mid-May to September and the larva feeds on yarrow and mugwort.
The small fan-footed wave is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1767.
The grey pug is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found throughout the Palearctic region. It is also found in North America. Since it does not place any special demands on climatic conditions, special caterpillar food plants, geological subsoil or the like it is a typical species of almost any Hochstaudenflur, where it occurs in the herb layer, in bushes and even on deciduous trees. It can be found on forest edges and hedgerows, on heath, in rocky places and wetlands, parks and gardens, as well as in villages and town centres.
The juniper pug or juniper looper is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is found throughout the Palearctic and in the Nearctic.
The cream wave is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Adrian Hardy Haworth in 1809. It is found in forest and woodland regions, feeding on grasses and small plants such as dandelion.
The spruce carpet is a moth in the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Alfred Jefferis Turner in 1925. It is a double-brooded species, meaning it has two broods in one year. Its wings are coloured with different shades of grey, but the spring brood tends to have more brown colours.
Angerona is a monotypic moth genus in the family Geometridae erected by Philogène Auguste Joseph Duponchel in 1829. Its only species, Angerona prunaria, the orange moth, was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
Idaea dimidiata, the single-dotted wave, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is a Holarctic species.
Hylaea fasciaria, the barred red, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species can be found in Central and North Europe, Urals, Caucasus, Altai and East Siberia.
Apeira syringaria, the lilac beauty, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found throughout Europe and east across the Palearctic to the Russian Far East and Japan.
Pelurga comitata, the dark spinach, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found throughout the Palearctic, including Europe, Siberia, the Russian Far East and northern China
Scopula imitaria, the small blood-vein, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1799 and it is found throughout Europe and in North Africa.
Scopula immutata, the lesser cream wave, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is found throughout Europe.
Eupithecia tantillaria, the dwarf pug, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It was described by Jean Baptiste Boisduval in 1840. The species can be found in the Palearctic realm.
Cyclophora puppillaria, or Blair's mocha, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1799. It can be found in Europe and from North Africa up to the Caucasus area.
Hydrelia sylvata, the waved carpet, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found throughout the temperate parts of the Palearctic realm.
Scopula ternata, the smoky wave, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It was described by Franz von Paula Schrank in 1802. It is mainly found in northern and parts of central Europe and in isolated populations in southern and south-eastern Europe. Its western range is eastern France, eastern Belgium and Scotland, with an isolated population in the Pyrenees. In the north its range extends to the polar regions and in the south it is found up to the Alps. Its eastern range extends through central and northern Russia up to the Ural, through Siberia up to the Yenisei River.
Hydriomena furcata, the July highflyer, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Peter Thunberg in 1784. It is found in the Holarctic ecozone.
Aplocera efformata, the lesser treble-bar, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Achille Guenée in 1858. It is known from Europe, Morocco and Anatolia.
Scotopteryx luridata, the July belle, is a species of moth in the family Geometridae. It is found in most of Europe, except Finland and the Baltic region. Further East it is found in Turkey, Georgia and Transcaucasia.
Scopula emissaria is a moth of the family Geometridae. It was described by Francis Walker in 1861. It is found in India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Vietnam, China, Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Sumatra, Java, Wallacea and Australia.
