''Gagitodes sagittata'', the marsh carpet, 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

Johan Christian Fabricius Johan Christian Fabricius (7 January 1745 – 3 March 1808) was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others. He was a student of Carl Linnaeus, and is cons ...

in 1787. It is found in eastern Asia, including

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and in central and northern Europe. It is sometimes included in the genus ''

Perizoma ''Perizoma'' is a genus in the geometer moth family (Geometridae). It is the type genus of tribe Perizomini in subfamily Larentiinae. The tribe is considered monotypic by those who include the genera '' Gagitodes'', '' Martania'' and '' Mesotyp ...

'' 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 26–34 mm. The moth flies from June to August depending on the location. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e feed on '' Thalictrum'' species.Peder Skou

References

External links

Marsh Carpet at ''UKMoths''
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''Fauna Europaea''''Lepiforum e.V.''''Schmetterlinge-Deutschlands.de''
Moths described in 1787 Perizomini Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius {{Larentiinae-stub