''Agriopis aurantiaria'', the scarce umber, is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family

Geometridae 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'' γεω (derivative form of or "the earth"), and ''met ...

. It was first described by

Jacob Hübner Jacob Hübner (20 June 1761 – 13 September 1826, in Augsburg) was a German entomologist. He was the author of ''Sammlung Europäischer Schmetterlinge'' (1796–1805), a founding work of entomology. Scientific career Hübner was the author of '' ...

in 1799 and it is found throughout Europe from Spain through Central Europe to Russia. In the south it can be found from the western Mediterranean to the Black Sea and the Caucasus. Its northern distribution reaches as far as central Fennoscandia. The species can be found in many different places, including deciduous forests, orchards, gardens as well as parks and settlement areas. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is 27–35 mm. There is a strong

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

. The males have normally developed wings. The forewings are dark golden yellow or orange yellow to light brown and dusted with many black scales. There are three brown-grey transverse bands the outermost broken. Sometimes there are large black patches in the postdiscal area. The hindwings have the same basic colour as the forewings, but are however always paler with two thin, dark lines. The antennae are double saw combed.. The male differs from its congeners in its bright golden-brown colour. Forma include — ab. ''fumipennaria'' Heilweger. Forewing infuscated (violet -brown), only the fringe yellow; hindwing also more or less smoky. male-ab. ''fasciata'' Linstoiv has a dark band distally to the postmedian line. Prout, L. B. (1912–16). Geometridae. In A. Seitz (ed.) ''The Macrolepidoptera of the World''. The Palaearctic Geometridae, 4. 479 pp. Alfred Kernen, Stuttgar
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/ref> The flightless females have almost entirely vestigial wings, a clumsy body, tapering at the end of body shape and are grey brown. The stub wings have are grey with two black crosses. The egg is flattened at one end, longitudinally ribbed and purplish. The caterpillar is yellowish, inclining to ochreous, lined with brown on the back, and striped with purplish on the sides. The underside is dark purplish brown, inclining to blackish, and striped with yellowish. Adults are on wing from October to November. The larvae feed on various deciduous trees, including ''

Betula A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

'', ''

Quercus robur ''Quercus robur'', commonly known as common oak, pedunculate oak, European oak or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native plant, native to most of Europe west of the Caucasus ...

'', ''

Sorbus aucuparia ''Sorbus aucuparia'', commonly called rowan (UK: /ˈrəʊən/, US: /ˈroʊən/) and mountain-ash, is a species of deciduous tree or shrub in the rose family. It is a highly variable species, and botanists have used different Circumscription (taxo ...

'', ''

Rosa Rosa or De Rosa may refer to: People *Rosa (given name) * Rosa (surname) *Santa Rosa (female given name from Latin-a latinized variant of Rose) Places *223 Rosa, an asteroid *Rosa, Alabama, a town, United States * Rosa, Germany, in Thuringia, G ...

'' and ''

Prunus padus ''Prunus padus'', known as bird cherry, hackberry, hagberry, or Mayday tree, is a flowering plant in the rose family. It is a species of cherry, a deciduous small tree or large shrub up to tall. It is the type species of the subgenus '' Padus' ...

''.

Subspecies

*''Agriopis aurantiaria aurantiaria'' *''Agriopis aurantiaria cleui'' *''Agriopis aurantiaria lariciaria''

Similar species

*''

Erannis defoliaria 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. Distribution The species can be found in w ...

'' *''

Agriopis marginaria The dotted border (''Agriopis marginaria'') is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1776. It is found throughout Europe, except the far north, and the Near East. The female of this ...

References

* Waring, P. & Townsend, M. (2006). ''Nachtvlinders, veldgids met alle in Nederland en België voorkomende soorten'', Baarn: Tirion.

External links

Scarce umber at ''UKMoths''''Lepiforum e.V.''
Bistonini Moths of Europe Moths described in 1799 Taxa named by Jacob Hübner {{Bistonini-stub