''Martania taeniata'', the barred 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 James Francis Stephens in 1831.''Fauna Europaea''
/ref> It is found in large parts of the

Palearctic realm 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 ...

. Its wingspan is 19–28 mm. The ground colour of the forewings is ochreous. The forewings have a dark-coloured central band. They are very variable in size, pattern and colouring. The large white or whitish spot in the middle of the distal margin distinguishes ''M. taeniata'' from its nearest allies. There is one generation per year with adults on wing in July and August. The larvae probably feed on various

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

species in the wild, but have been reared on various plants, such as '' Taraxacum officinale'', ''

Stellaria media ''Stellaria media'', chickweed, is an annual and perennial flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae.Fernald, M. L. 1950. “Gray's Manual of Botany”. Eight Edition. American Book Company, New York, NY. 1632 pp. It is native to Euras ...

'' and '' Polygonum aviculare''. The larvae can be found from August to June. The species overwinters in the larval stage.

Subspecies

*''Martania taeniata taeniata'' *''Martania taeniata obsoletum'' (Djakonov, 1929) (Kamchatka)

References

External links

*
''Lepiforum e. V.''
Perizomini Moths of Japan Moths of Europe {{Larentiinae-stub