''Cyclophora linearia'', the clay triple-lines, 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 species 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 can be found in Europe and (primarily in the southern half) Britain.

Description

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 26–33 mm. The basic colour of the wings is pale brown to orange in the first generation and rose red in the second generation. On the forewing are three crosslines, black to reddish in colour, the middle is wider. The crosslines are often vague in the second generation. describes some aberrations. The egg is elongate-oval, with fine hexagonal or rather irregularly polygonal ribbing; pale yellow, becoming marked with red. The larva is slender and naked, pale green, with small, yellow spots on the dorsum.

Biology

The moths fly from May to July depending on the location. The larvae feed on

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 ...

Similar species

''Cyclophora linearia'' is difficult to certainly distinguish from these congeners. See Townsend et al.Martin C. Townsend, Jon Clifton and Brian Goodey (2010)
''British and Irish Moths: An Illustrated Guide to Selected Difficult Species''
(covering the use of genitalia characters and other features) Butterfly Conservation. *Blair's mocha ''

Cyclophora puppillaria ''Cyclophora puppillaria'', or Blair's mocha, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1799. It can be found in Europe and from North Africa up to the Caucasus area. Description The wingspan is 2 ...

'' (Herrich-Schäffer, 1855) *Jersey Mocha ''

Cyclophora ruficiliaria ''Cyclophora ruficiliaria'', the Jersey mocha, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Gottlieb August Wilhelm Herrich-Schäffer in 1855. It can be found in Europe, in particular the Channel Islands as well as oth ...

'' (Herrich-Schäffer, 1855) *Maiden’s Blush ''

Cyclophora punctaria ''Cyclophora punctaria'', the maiden's blush, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. The species is mainly prevalent in Central and Eastern Europe. I ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1758) *False mocha ''

Cyclophora porata ''Cyclophora porata'', the false mocha, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species can be found in southern Europe and England to Denmark, southern Sweden and the Caucasus. Description The wingspan is . The fore wings are reddish, warm oran ...

'' (Hübner, 1799)

References

External links

* * *
''Lepidoptera of Belgium''

''Lepiforum e.V.''
Moths described in 1939 linearia Moths of Europe Taxa named by Jacob Hübner {{Sterrhinae-stub