''Lomographa temerata'', the clouded silver, 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 In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

is found in Asia and Europe and was first described by

Michael Denis Johann Nepomuk Cosmas Michael Denis, also: ''Sined the Bard'', (27 September 1729 – 29 September 1800) was an Austrian Catholic priest and Jesuit, who is best known as a poet, bibliographer, and lepidopterist. Life Denis was born at Schärding ...

and

Ignaz Schiffermüller Ignaz Schiffermüller (born 2 October 1727 in Hellmonsödt; died 21 June 1806 in Linz) was an Austrian naturalist mainly interested in Lepidoptera. Schiffermüller was a teacher at the Theresianum College in Vienna. His collection was presented ...

in 1775.

Distribution

The species can be found in most of Europe, the

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 admini ...

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

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 ...

and Issyk-Kul.

Habitat

These moths inhabit woodland, suburban areas, bushy deciduous forests, mountain valleys, heathlands, hedges, meadows and gardens.

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 22–26 mm."70.280 BF1958 Clouded Silver ''Lomographa temerata'' ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775)"
''UKMoths''. Retrieved February 3, 2019. The ground colour of the wings is whitish with a silky sheen. The forewings have a black discoid spot and short black-brown markings at the base. It is also recognizable by the dark clouding in the distal part of the forewing, though this varies greatly in intensity and always leaves free (at least in part) a broad white dentate subterminal line. On the hindwings there is also a small black central spot and weakly marked grey bands. The black spots on the upperside of the wings appear also on the undersides. Grown caterpillars are green and have a yellow or reddish often interrupted line on the back. Pupae are brown.

Biology

These moths fly from May to June in one generation. The larvae feed on the leaves of various trees, including hawthorn (''Crataegus monogyna''), blackthorn ''Prunus spinosa'', wild cherry (''Prunus avium''), bird cherry (''Prunus padus''), ''Prunus cerasus'', ''Prunus domestica'', ''Malus domestica'', '' Acer campestre'', '' Fagus sylvatica'', '' Rosa canina'' sp., '' Salix'' sp., ''

Sorbus aucuparia ''Sorbus aucuparia'', commonly called rowan (UK: /ˈrəʊən/, US: /ˈroʊən/) and mountain-ash, is a species of deciduous tree or shrub in the rose family. It is a highly variable species, and botanists have used different Circumscription (taxo ...

'', ''

Impatiens noli-tangere ''Impatiens noli-tangere'' (touch-me-not balsam; Latin ''impatiēns'' "impatient" or "not allowing", and ''nōlī tangere'' "do not touch": literally "be unwilling to touch") is an annual herbaceous plant in the family Balsaminaceae found in dam ...

'', birch ('' Betula'') and oak (''

Quercus 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 '' ...

'').Heiner Ziegle
''Schmetterlinge der Schweiz''
/ref> They overwinter as a pupa.

Gallery

File: 2016 09 17B Lomographa temerata.jpg , Caterpillar File:Lomographa temerata (8838138477).jpg, Close-up on the eye File: Lomographa temerata, Lodz(Poland)02(js).jpg, Underside File: Lomographa temerata, Clouded Silver, Minera, North Wales, May 2016 - Flickr - janetgraham84.jpg, Moth

Notes

#''The flight season refers to the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

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

References

External links

* Paolo Mazzei, Daniel Morel, Raniero Panfil
''Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa''

''Lepiforum e.V.''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1920114 Lomographa Moths described in 1775 Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Taxa named by Michael Denis Taxa named by Ignaz Schiffermüller