''Eulithis populata'', the northern spinach, 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 genus '' Eulithis'' in 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 ''metro ...

Etymology

The species name ''populata'' derives fron the Latin word ''populus'', meaning poplar, as a food plant for the caterpillar.

Distribution and habitat

''Eulithis populata'' is a

Holarctic The Holarctic realm is a biogeographic realm that comprises the majority of habitats found throughout the continents in the Northern Hemisphere. It corresponds to the floristic Boreal Kingdom. It includes both the Nearctic zoogeographical reg ...

species found in North America, Europe, the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

Transcaucasia The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...

, the

Urals The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western ...

, Siberia,

Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admin ...

, and North Mongolia. These moths usually inhabits blueberry and mixed forests, peat moorland, wetlands and grassland. The altitude distribution reaches up to 2500 meters in the Alps and up to 2300 meters in the Pyrenees.

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 o ...

is 25–32 mm. UK Moths
/ref> The ground colour of the forewings is yellow (varying in ground colour from a straw yellow to orange-brown or dark brown). There is a brown central band and a brown basal patch. There is a ''W'' shaped projection on the cross band. Adult caterpillars are extraordinarily variable in colour and have a whitish, yellowish, greenish, brownish, blackish or reddish colour. They are most likely to be recognized by the dark dorsal line located on the front segments, also the dark wedge spots on the posterior segments as well as the distinct annular brown thickening of the second body segment. These moths are rather similar to '' Eulithis mellinata'' and '' Eulithis pyraliata''.

Biology

''Eulithis populata'' is an

univoltine Voltinism is a term used in biology to indicate the number of broods or generations of an organism in a year. The term is most often applied to insects, and is particularly in use in sericulture, where silkworm varieties vary in their voltinism. ...

species. The species overwinters in the egg stage. The flight period is June to September, in the mountains also until October. These moths are mostly twilight and nocturnal moths, but occasionally they can also be found during the day. In their typical resting position of the adults, the end of the abdomen is bent slightly upwards. The larvae usually feed on the leaves of blueberry (''

Vaccinium myrtillus ''Vaccinium myrtillus'' or European blueberry is a holarctic species of shrub with edible fruit of blue color, known by the common names bilberry, blaeberry, wimberry, and whortleberry. It is more precisely called common bilberry or blue whortle ...

''). Alternative food plants are ''

Vaccinium uliginosum ''Vaccinium uliginosum'' (bog bilberry, bog blueberry, northern bilberry or western blueberry) is a Eurasian and North American flowering plant in the genus ''Vaccinium'' within the heath family. Distribution ''Vaccinium uliginosum'' is native ...

'', ''

Ribes rubrum The redcurrant or red currant (''Ribes rubrum'') is a member of the genus '' Ribes'' in the gooseberry family. It is native to western Europe. The species is widely cultivated and has escaped into the wild in many regions. Description ''Ribes ...

'', ''

Salix Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...

'' , ''

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 30 t ...

'' and ''

Populus tremula ''Populus tremula'' (commonly called aspen, common aspen, Eurasian aspen, European aspen, or quaking aspen) is a species of poplar native to cool temperate regions of Europe and Asia, from Iceland and the British IslesJames KilkellIrish native ...

''. Usually adults can be found in large numbers by sucking on the flowers of ''

Molinia caerulea ''Molinia caerulea'', known by the common name purple moor-grass, is a species of grass that is native to Europe, west Asia, and north Africa. It grows in locations from the lowlands up to in the Alps. Like most grasses, it grows best in acid s ...

'', ''

Holcus ''Holcus'' (soft-grass or velvetgrass) is a genus of African and Eurasian plants in the oat tribe within the grass family. ''Holcus'' species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including '' Coleophora lixella'' ...

'', ''

Juncus conglomeratus ''Juncus conglomeratus'', known commonly as compact rush, is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant species in the rush family Juncaceae.Juncus effusus ''Juncus effusus'', with the common names common rush or soft rush, is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant species in the rush family Juncaceae. In North America, the common name soft rush also refers to '' Juncus interior''. Distribution ' ...

''. Paolo Mazzei, Daniel Morel, Raniero Panfil
Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa
/ref> Günter Ebert (Hrsg.): ''Die Schmetterlinge Baden-Württembergs. 1. Auflage. Band 8. Nachtfalter VI. Geometridae 1'' Ulmer, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3497-7, S. 333–335

Gallery

File: Geometridae - Eulithis populata-001.JPG, Side view File: Eulithis.populata.jpg, In flight File: Eulithis populata SLU.JPG, Mounted specimen File: Buckler W The larvæ of the British butterflies and moths PlateCXLIV.jpg, Larvae after final moult

References

Cidariini Moths of Europe Moths described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Cidariini-stub