''Campaea margaritata'', commonly known in the
UK as the light emerald, is a
moth of the family
Geometridae. The species was
first described by
Carl Linnaeus in his 1767
12th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. It is widely distributed throughout Europe, the
Near East
The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...
and North Africa. The habitat is mixed forests including parks and large gardens.
Description
Newly emerged adults have delicately pale green wings marked with green and white
fascia
A fascia (; plural fasciae or fascias; adjective fascial; from Latin: "band") is a band or sheet of connective tissue, primarily collagen, beneath the skin that attaches to, stabilizes, encloses, and separates muscles and other internal organs. ...
, two on the slightly crenulate forewing, one on the hindwing. As with most moths of this colour, the green colouration is fugitive fading over time and older specimens tend to be almost pure white. The
wingspan is 42–54 mm, the female generally being considerably larger than the male. The egg is smooth, long oval, but laid with the micropyle at the top; light grey, dark-dotted, later pink with the dots deep red. The larva is grey, brown or brownish-green, commonly with whitish dots, the segment-incisions well marked.
[Prout, L. B. (1912–16). Geometridae. In A. Seitz (ed.) ''The Macrolepidoptera of the World''. The Palaearctic Geometridae, 4. 479 pp. Alfred Kernen, Stuttgar]
pdf
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Life cycle
One or two broods are produced each year and adults can be seen at any time between July and September . The larva feeds on a variety of deciduous trees, including apple, beech
Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...
, birch, elm, hawthorn
Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to:
Plants
* '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae
* ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...
, hazel
The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...
and oak as well as several species of '' Prunus''. The species overwinters as a larva, feeding on the soft bark of its food plants during the winter.
This moth flies at night and is attracted to light.
#''The flight season refers to the British Isles. This may vary in other parts of the range.''
Image:Campaea margaritata 9038.jpg, Close-up of head and forelegs
Image:Campaea margaritata larva.JPG, Larva on elm, Glimmen
Glimmen is a village in the northeastern Netherlands. It is located in the municipality of Groningen, about 10 kilometres from the city. It had a population of around 1,342 in 2021. The river Drentsche Aa flows past the village, nearby the ''Huis ...
, Netherlands
References
*Chinery, Michael. ''Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe'' 1986 (Reprinted 1991)
*Skinner, Bernard. ''Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles'' 1984
External links
Light emerald (''Campaea margaritaria'') at ''UKMoths''
*
''Campaea margaritaria'' at ''Fauna Europaea''
* ttp://www.lepiforum.de/lepiwiki.pl?Campaea_Margaritaria "07836 ''Campaea margaritaria'' (Linnaeus, [1760]) - Perlglanzspanner" ''Lepiforum e.V.'' Retrieved March 26, 2019.
Campaeini
Moths described in 1767
Moths of Africa
Moths of Europe
Moths of the Middle East
Moths of Asia
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
{{Ennominae-stub