''Furcula furcula'', the sallow kitten, 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 ...

from the family

Notodontidae Notodontidae is a family of moths with approximately 3,800 known species. The family was described by James Francis Stephens in 1829. Moths of this family are found in all parts of the world, but they are most concentrated in tropical areas, espe ...

. It was first described by the Swedish entomologist

Carl Alexander Clerck Carl Alexander Clerck (1709 – 22 July 1765) was a Sweden, Swedish entomologist and arachnology, arachnologist. Clerck came from a family in the petty Swedish nobility, nobility and entered the University of Uppsala in 1726. Little is known of hi ...

in 1759 from a specimen found in Sweden.

Distribution

The moth can be found in Europe (including the Mediterranean region),

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

and through Asia to China. It is also found in North America.

Description

The sallow kitten is grey/white and has a wingspan of 27 to 35 mm. The first part of the wing has a large grey middle band. It differs from the poplar kitten ('' Furcula bifida'') in its generally smaller size, but more especially in the shape of the black line forming the outer margin of the central band; this is always more or less angled or dentate towards the front margin of the wings, whereas, in the poplar kitten, this portion of the line forms a clean curve. The flight period ranges from April to the end of August. Depending on location the moth has one or two generations per year and is attracted to light. ; Ova The dark purple, hemispericle eggs are laid in batches of two or three on the upper surface of leaves in May or June and again in August. They hatch after nine days. ; Larva The caterpillar can grow up to 35 mm and is bright green with a purple brown marking on the saddle and can be found from May through to September. The main host plants are

willow 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 ...

(''Salix'' species) and occasionally

aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...

(''Populus tremula'') and other poplar (''Populus'' species). Larvae can be found on small isolated moorland bushes. ; Pupa Before pupation the larva hollows out a recess. The pupa is dark purple-brown and pupation takes place in a tough cocoon constructed from a mixture of chewed wood-pulp and silk.

References

External links

Sallow kitten on UK Moths

Fauna Europaea

* ttp://www.schmetterling-raupe.de/art/furcula_s.htm www.schmetterling-raupe.de
Lepiforum.de
Taxonomy and Photos {{Taxonbar, from=Q998134 Notodontidae Moths described in 1759 Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Moths of Japan Moths of North America Taxa named by Carl Alexander Clerck

Distribution

Description

References

Further reading

External links