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Ennomos alniaria

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(Redirected from Canary-shouldered thorn)

Canary-shouldered thorn
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Geometridae
Genus: Ennomos
Species:
E. alniaria
Binomial name
Ennomos alniaria

Ennomos alniaria, the canary-shouldered thorn, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It can be found in Europe in a wide variety of biotopes where there are deciduous trees, perhaps mostly in deciduous forests and gardens.

Museum specimen
Figure 7 shows male, female and larva Die Schmetterlinge Deutschlands mit besonderer Berücksichtigung ihrer Biologie, Bd. 1-4, by Karl Eckstein

Description

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The wingspan is 34–42 mm. The length of the forewings is 16–20 mm. Resembles Ennomos quercinaria, but has a canary-yellow thorax. The forewings are scalloped and there are also two cross lines. The wings are ochre yellow with greyish flecks. The bands, a small discal spot on the forewing and a larger discal spot on the hindwing are grey. The larva is brownish-grey, long and thin, with four raised cross-bands on the dorsal side. It closely resembles a dead twig.[1]

Other Ennomos species are similar.

Distribution

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Caucasus and Russia to western Europe. The northern limit is Fennoscandia and the southern limit is the northern Mediterranean. It has also been introduced into British Columbia.[2]

Biology

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The moths fly in one generation from July to October.[1] They are attracted to light.

The larvae feed on a number of deciduous trees including downy birch and silver birch, alder and goat willow.

References

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  1. ^ Prout, L. B. (1912–16). Geometridae. In A. Seitz (ed.) The Macrolepidoptera of the World. The Palaearctic Geometridae, 4. 479 pp. Alfred Kernen, Stuttgart.pdf
  2. ^ Covell, Charles V. Jr.; Ferguson, Douglas C.; Straley, Gerald B. (May 1986). "Ennomos alniaria (Lepidoptera: Geometridae), a European moth recently discovered in British Columbia". The Canadian Entomologist. 118 (5). Cambridge, UK: Entomological Society of Canada: 449–501. doi:10.4039/Ent118499-5. Closed access icon

Notes

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