''Hypomecis roboraria'', the great oak beauty, 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 ...

. The species occurs in the

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

. The nominate subspecies is found in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. The subspecies ''isabellaria'' is found in western Central Asia east across Siberia and Mongolia to northern China. 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 40–50 mm. The male has feather-shaped antennae, the female thread-shaped. The forewings have three narrow, wavy, dark cross-bands that are clear at the front edge, often blurry further back. The hindwings have two such cross bands, one of which is usually quite clear. The larva is naked, brown and gnarled and strongly resembles a dead oak twig. The moths fly from May to August. The caterpillars feed on

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

. Similar species include ''

Hypomecis punctinalis ''Hypomecis punctinalis'', the pale oak beauty, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in his 1763 ''Entomologia Carniolica''. The species can be found in central and southern Europe, Asia ...

'' and ''

Hypomecis ''Hypomecis'' is a genus of moths in the family Geometridae first described by Jacob Hübner in 1821. Description Palpi oblique, reaching beyond the frons and fringed with hair below. Forewings with slightly crenulate (scalloped) cilia. Vein 3 ...

sp.''

Notes

#''The flight season refers to the

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. This may vary in other parts of the range.''

Bibliography

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External links

Great oak beauty on UKmothsLepiforum.deVlindernet.nl
Boarmiini Moths of Europe Taxa named by Michael Denis Taxa named by Ignaz Schiffermüller {{Boarmiini-stub