''Scopula minorata'' 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 ...

. It was described by

Jean Baptiste Boisduval Jean Baptiste Alphonse Déchauffour de Boisduval (24 June 1799 – 30 December 1879) was a French lepidopterist, botanist, and physician. He was one of the most celebrated lepidopterists of France, and was the co-founder of the Société entomol ...

in 1833. It is found in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

south of the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

, the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...

and on the islands of the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

. Furthermore, it is found in southern Europe. It can be distinguished from ''

Scopula lactaria ''Scopula lactaria'' is a moth of the family Geometridae. It was described by Francis Walker in 1861. It is found in Africa south of the Sahara and on some islands of the Indian Ocean (Sokotra and Réunion). It can be distinguished from ''Scopul ...

'' only by examination of its genitalia. 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 .

Subspecies

*''Scopula minorata minorata'' *''Scopula minorata corcularia'' (Rebel, 1894) *''Scopula minorata ochroleucaria'' (Herrich-Schäffer, 1847) *''Scopula minorata tripolitana'' (Sterneck, 1933)

References

minorata Moths described in 1833 Moths of Europe Moths of Cape Verde Moths of the Comoros Moths of Africa Moths of Madagascar Moths of Mauritius Moths of Réunion Moths of Seychelles Moths of Asia Taxa named by Jean Baptiste Boisduval {{Scopula-stub