| Speranza pustularia | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Geometridae |
| Genus: | Speranza |
| Species: | S. pustularia |
| Binomial name | |
| Speranza pustularia (Guenée, 1857) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Speranza pustularia, the lesser maple spanworm, is a moth of the family Geometridae. Adults are on wing from May to July in the south and from June to August in the north. There is one generation per year.
Adults have white wings with wavy orange-yellow lines across both the forewings and hindwings. These lines are often thicker at the top-most edge of the forewing. The wingspan is 18–27 mm.
The lesser maple spanworm is found from Nova Scotia to Florida, west to Mississippi, north to North Dakota and Saskatchewan. They are most common in deciduous and mixed forests. [1]
The larvae feed on the leaves of maple, especially Acer rubrum. While A. rubrum is their primary food source, they may also feed on Acer saccharum and Acer saccharinum. Some have also been recorded on birch, cherry, poplar, Abies , Tsuga and tamarack.
Acer rubrum, the red maple, also known as swamp maple, water maple, or soft maple, is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern and central North America. The U.S. Forest Service recognizes it as the most abundant native tree in eastern North America. The red maple ranges from southeastern Manitoba around the Lake of the Woods on the border with Ontario and Minnesota, east to Newfoundland, south to Florida, and southwest to East Texas. Many of its features, especially its leaves, are quite variable in form. At maturity, it often attains a height around 30 m (100 ft). Its flowers, petioles, twigs, and seeds are all red to varying degrees. Among these features, however, it is best known for its brilliant deep scarlet foliage in autumn.
The winter moth is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is an abundant species in 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 autumn and early winter. The adults use endothermy for movement in these cold temperatures. The females of this species are virtually wingless and cannot fly, but the males are fully winged and fly strongly. After the initial frosts of late fall, the females emerge from their pupae, walk to and up trees and emit pheromones in the evening to attract males. After fertilization, they ascend to lay, on average, around 100 eggs each. Typically, the larger the female moth is, the more eggs she lays.
The miller is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found throughout Europe apart from the far south-east. The range extends from the South of Spain, Central Italy and Bulgaria to Scotland and Central Scandinavia, crossing the Arctic circle in Finland and Norway. Outside Europe it is only known in North Africa. In the Eastern Palearctic and the Nearctic realm it is replaced by Acronicta vulpina, formerly known as Acronicta leporina subspecies vulpina.
Dryocampa rubicunda, the rosy maple moth, is a small North American moth in the family Saturniidae, also known as the great silk moths. It was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1793. The species is known for its wooly body and pink and yellow coloration, which varies from cream or white to bright pink or yellow. Males have bushier antennae than females, which allow them to sense female pheromones for mating.
Automeris io, the Io moth or peacock moth, is a colorful North American moth in the family Saturniidae. The Io moth is also a member of the subfamily Hemileucinae. The name Io comes from Greek mythology in which Io was a mortal lover of Zeus. The Io moth ranges from the southeast corner of Manitoba and in the southern extremes of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in Canada, and in the US it is found from Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, east of those states and down to the southern end of Florida. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775.
Acer is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae, along with lychee and horse chestnut. There are approximately 132 species, most of which are native to Asia, with a number also appearing in Europe, northern Africa, and North America. Only one species, Acer laurinum, extends to the Southern Hemisphere. The type species of the genus is the sycamore maple, Acer pseudoplatanus, the most common maple species in Europe. Maples usually have easily recognizable palmate leaves and distinctive winged fruits. The closest relatives of the maples are the horse chestnuts. Maple syrup is made from the sap of some maple species. It is one of the most common genera of trees in Asia. Many maple species are grown in gardens where they are valued for their autumn colour.
Sitochroa verticalis, common name lesser pearl, is a species of moth of the family Crambidae.
Geshna is a monotypic moth genus of the family Crambidae described by Harrison Gray Dyar Jr. in 1906. It contains only one species, Geshna cannalis, the lesser canna leafroller, described by Altus Lacy Quaintance in 1898. It is found in North America, where it has been recorded from Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee. It has also been recorded from Costa Rica and Cuba.
Eusarca confusaria, the confused eusarca, is a moth species of the family Geometridae that occurs in North America and Brazil. It is the only member of the genus Eusarca that inhabits the northern portion of the United States and Canada.
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.
Cameraria aceriella, maple leafblotch miner, is a moth of the family Gracillariidae. It is known from Quebec and Ontario in Canada and Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New York, and Vermont in the United States.
Ennomos subsignaria, the elm spanworm moth, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1823. It is found in North America from Texas (south) to Alberta (northwest) and east to the Atlantic coast. It is recorded infrequently in Great Britain through accidental importation in asparagus.
Paraclemensia acerifoliella, the maple leafcutter moth, is a moth of the family Incurvariidae. It is found from south-eastern Canada and the north-eastern United States, south to the tip of the Appalachian Mountains in western North Carolina and possibly north-western Georgia.
Lycia ursaria, the stout spanworm moth or bear, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1860. It is found in southern Canada and the northern United States, south to New Jersey and Iowa.
Pandemis lamprosana, the woodgrain leafroller moth, is a species of moth of the family Tortricidae. It is found in North America, where it has been recorded from the north-eastern United States, Quebec and Ontario.
Acleris chalybeana, the lesser maple leafroller moth, is a species of moth of the family Tortricidae. It is found in North America, where it has been recorded from Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Quebec, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Acleris semiannula is a species of moth of the family Tortricidae. It is found in North America, where it has been recorded from Alberta, British Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, New Brunswick, New York, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Quebec, South Carolina, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Speranza is a genus of moths in the family Geometridae erected by John Curtis in 1828.
Apocheima strigataria, the small phigalia moth, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Charles Sedgwick Minot in 1869. It is found in North America, where it has been recorded from North Dakota to Texas and further east. The habitat consists of woodlands and forests.
Nites betulella, the black-dotted birch leaftier moth, is a moth in the family Depressariidae. It was described by August Busck in 1902. It is found in North America, where it has been recorded from Nova Scotia, southern Canada, the north-eastern United States, British Columbia and Wisconsin.