Mottled umber

The mottled umber (Erannis defoliaria) 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.

Mottled umber
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Geometridae
Genus: Erannis
Species:
E. defoliaria
Binomial name
Erannis defoliaria
(Clerck, 1759)
Synonyms
  • Phalaena defoliaria Clerck, 1759

Distribution

The species can be found in western Europe from northern Scandinavia to the Mediterranean, then east to the Caucasus, northern Iran, Russia, Russian Far East, and Ussuri.

Description

The female of this species is wingless and rather spider-like and can be found on the trunks and stems of its larval food plants. She is white or yellow-and-black patched. The male is fully winged (wingspan 40–45 mm) and very variable. The ground colour of the forewing is pale yellow or light yellow ochre and suffused dark grey. The basal and distal fasciae are dark brown. The basal fascia is bordered on the inner side by a brown cloud; the distal fascia has a brown cloud on the outer edge. There is also a brown cloud along the costa. There are two dark brown oblong spots in the upper half of the terminal area. The hindwing is grey white with grey suffusion. There is a grey-black discal spot on both wings. There are numerous and significant deviations from this colour pattern and some specimens are very dark. Truly melanic forms are also frequent. As with the peppered moth, the darker forms tend to be prevalent in industrial areas.

Biology

The adults have been recorded from September to December in the Great Britain and Ireland. Males are attracted to light.

The larva is also variable from cream to dark brown. It feeds on a wide variety of trees and shrubs (see list below) and can be a serious pest in orchards. The species overwinters as an egg.

Larval food plants include,

[1]

References
  1. Waring, Paul; Townsend, Martin; Lewington, Richard (2003). Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland. Rotherwick: British Wildlife Publishing. p. 174. ISBN 0 9531399 2 1.
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