| Scopula rubiginata | |
|---|---|
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| Mounted specimen | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Geometridae |
| Genus: | Scopula |
| Species: | S. rubiginata |
| Binomial name | |
| Scopula rubiginata | |
| Synonyms | |
List
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Scopula rubiginata, the tawny wave, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1767.
Subspecies Scopula rubiginata ochraceataStaudinger, 1901 [2] is mostly treated as a species, Scopula ochraceata .
The Latin species name rubiginata means "rusty", with reference to the coloration of the wings.
This species is present from the Iberian Peninsula up to the Ural. In the North its range extends to Denmark and Southern Sweden and Finland. It is not present in most of the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula (with the exception of Gibraltar), Sicily and the southern Greek islands. [3] In Morocco it is found in the Atlas mountains. Furthermore, it is also present in North Turkey, the Caucasus and the Crimea. Eastwards, its range stretches through southern Siberia, the northern central Asian mountains up to Mongolia. These moths preferably inhabit sandy terrain, such as sand dunes [4] dry-warm environment, grasslands and heath, at an elevation up to 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above sea level.
Scopula rubiginata has a wingspan of 16–22 mm. [4] These moths are rather small in size in comparison to other geometrids. They present a rather high variability in basic color and drawings. The basic color depends on the humidity. [5] As a matter of fact wings may be tawny, pale brown, violet-reddish, greyish or straw-coloured, with darker brown or darker reddish, transverse and slightly wavy markings (hence the common name of the species) on the upper sides. The inner transverse line is missing on the hind wings. Similar markings are present on the under sides. The apex of the forewings is rounded. The hindwing margin is uniform, almost round. The fringes are paler than the basic color.
The eggs are approximately cylindrical. The surface is covered with 16 distinct longitudinal ribs. The caterpillars are relatively slender and a bit thicker towards the rear end. The color is variable, ranging from yellowish, brownish, slightly reddish to gray. The ventral side is greenish. The back shows a relatively thin line, but darker than the basic color, The head is relatively small, roundish and slightly reddish. The pupa is brown, with fine bristles. [6] [7]
This species is quite similar to Idaea ochrata , but this last species shows a dented hindwing margin.
The moths fly in one (June to August), two (May to June and July to September) [4] or three (in overlapping generations from April to October) generations depending on the location. These moths are day and night active, but especially from dusk onwards. At night, they come to artificial light sources. The moths were observed on the flowers of the following plants: figworts ( Scrophularia canina ), small rattle-pail ( Rhinanthus minor ), yellow mignonette ( Reseda lutea ), hoary ragwort ( Senecio erucifolius ), broad-leaved thyme ( Thymus pulegioides ), alfalfa ( Medicago sativa ) and carrot ( Daucus carota ).
The larva feeds on various herbaceous plants, including knotgrass ( Polygonum ), [4] Thymus glabrescens , Calluna vulgaris , Artemisia campestris , Rumex acetosella , Thymus serpyllum , Medicago lupulina , Vicia , Lotus , Trifolium , Cytisus scoparius , Thalictrum , Galium , Taraxacum officinale [4] and Convolvulus arvensis . [8] [9] The partly grown larvae hibernate in the sward. Later they pupate in a cocoon amongst debris. [10]
The geometer moths are moths belonging to the family Geometridae of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies. Their scientific name derives from the Ancient Greek geo γῆ or γαῖα "the earth", and metron μέτρον "measure" in reference to the way their larvae, or "inchworms", appear to "measure the earth" as they move along in a looping fashion. A very large family, it has around 23,000 species of moths described, and over 1400 species from six subfamilies indigenous to North America alone. A well-known member is the peppered moth, Biston betularia, which has been subject of numerous studies in population genetics. Several other geometer moths are notorious pests.
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.
Cyclophora albipunctata, the birch mocha, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1767. It is found in the Palearctic. The southern boundary runs westward along the French Atlantic coast and to the British Isles and north of the Alps. In the east, the species ranges to the Pacific Ocean. South of the northern Alps line, it is found at some high elevation areas and mountains. In the Pyrenees, the Massif Central, the southern Alps, the northern Dinaric Alps, in the western and northern Carpathians, in northern Turkey and the Caucasus. In the north, the range extends up to the Arctic Circle. In the Far East the nominate subspecies is replaced by Cyclophora albipunctata griseolataStaudinger, 1897.
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.
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 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.
Lythria is a genus of moths in the family Geometridae erected by Jacob Hübner in 1823. It is the only genus of the monotypic tribe Lythriini described by Claude Herbulot in 1962.
Sterrhinae is a large subfamily of geometer moths with some 3,000 described species, with more than half belonging to the taxonomically difficult, very diverse genera, Idaea and Scopula. This subfamily was described by Edward Meyrick in 1892. They are the most diverse in the tropics with the number of species decreasing with increasing latitude and elevation.
Scopulini is a tribe of the geometer moth family (Geometridae), with about 900 species in seven genera. The tribe was described by Philogène Auguste Joseph Duponchel in 1845.
Scopula ornata, the lace border, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in his 1763 Entomologia Carniolica. It is found in Europe, North Africa and the Near East.
Catarhoe cuculata, the royal mantle, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1767. It is found from Europe to western central Asia.
Idaea flaveolaria is a moth of the family Geometridae first described by Jacob Hübner in 1809.
Scopula incanata is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found from north-eastern Europe and the Caucasus to southern Siberia and northern Mongolia.
Scopula addictaria is a moth of the family Geometridae. It was described by Francis Walker in 1861. It is found in Sri Lanka.
Scopula aspilataria is a moth of the family Geometridae. It was described by Francis Walker in 1861. It is found in Sri Lanka.
Scopula bullata is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found in the Baluchistan region of Iran.
Scopula cajanderi is a moth of the family Geometridae. It has a Holarctic, distribution, which includes Russia, Alaska and Yukon.
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.
Scopula eunupta is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found in Russia.
Scopula hackeri is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found in Yemen.
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