Tethea ocularis

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Tethea ocularis
Tethea ocularis FvL.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Drepanidae
Genus: Tethea
Species:
T. ocularis
Binomial name
Tethea ocularis
Synonyms
  • Phalaena ocularisLinnaeus, 1767
  • Phalaena octogesimeaHübner, 1786
  • Tethea octogena(Esper, 1788)
  • Cymalophora octogesima var. caucasicaKrulikowsky, 1901
  • Tethea ocularis caucasicaWerny, 1966
  • Tethea ocularis kosswigiWerny, 1966
  • Tethea ocularis sareptensisZolotuhin, 1997
  • Tethea ocularis tsinlingensisWerny, 1966
  • Cylamophora osthelderiBytinski-Salz & Brandt, 1937
  • Tethea caspicaEbert, 1976

Tethea ocularis, the figure of eighty, is a moth of the family Drepanidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1767 12th edition of Systema Naturae. It is found throughout Continental Europe and has a scattered distribution in England and Wales, although it is absent from Scotland and Ireland.

Contents

Illustration from John Curtis's British Entomology Volume 5 Britishentomologyvolume5Plate272.jpg
Illustration from John Curtis's British Entomology Volume 5
Fig 7, 7a larvae after final moult Buckler W The larvae of the British butterflies and moths PlateLIV.jpg
Fig 7, 7a larvae after final moult


The wingspan is 35–45 mm; the dark brown forewings being marked with dark-centred white stigmata which do look rather like the number 80. The hindwings are grey. The species flies from May to July and is attracted to light and sugar.

The grey and white larva feeds on poplar and aspen. The species overwinters as a pupa.

Subspecies

  1. ^ The flight season refers to the British Isles. This may vary in other parts of the range.

References