The garden carpet (''Xanthorhoe fluctuata'') is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is an abundant and familiar species across its huge range which covers the whole

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 ...

region from Ireland to

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 ...

and including the

Near East The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...

and North Africa. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''.

Description

It has a wingspan of . The wings are greyish white with three irregular black blotches along the costa of the forewing, the largest in the middle. Occasionally, much darker (

melanic The term melanism refers to black pigment and is derived from the gr, μελανός. Melanism is the increased development of the dark-colored pigment melanin in the skin or hair. Pseudomelanism, also called abundism, is another variant of pi ...

) forms occur. "Easy to recognize, in spite of its variability. In the typical form the ground colour is dirty whitish and the median band is almost or altogether obsolete in its posterior half. * – ab. ''ochreata'' Prout has the ground colour ochreous. * – In ab. ''neapolisata'' Mill, the ground colour is much darkened with brown-grey. * – ab. ''costovata'' Haw. has the median band much narrowed and somewhat shortened, * – ''deleta'' Ckll. is merely a rather extreme development of this and need not be separated. * – ab.''immaculata'' Tutt is a much rarer aberration with the median band entirely wanting. * – ab. ''abstersata'' H.-Sch. shows the opposite extreme of development of the band, which is here darkened completely across the wing; distal area also sometimes darkened. * – ''thules'' Prout is a dark race from the Shetland Islands. The less extreme forms intergrade into ab. ''neapolisata'', but the name strictly applies to specimens in which both the forewings and hindwing are entirely infuscated so that the markings are almost obliterated. * – ''sempionaria'' Rätzer is a small race from the Simplon, of a rather purer white than the type and with the median half-band rather small but rather sharply marked."Prout, L. B. (1912–16). Geometridae. In A. Seitz (ed.) ''The Macrolepidoptera of the World''. The Palaearctic Geometridae, 4. 479 pp. Alfred Kernen, Stuttgar
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/ref> Xanthorhoe fluctuata SLU

Biology

The species has an exceptionally long flying season spanning two or three broods, and the adults can be seen any time from April to October in the British Isles. This may vary in other parts of its range. It flies throughout the night and is attracted to light – it is one of the species most likely to be seen at lighted windows. The larva is grey or green with pale, diamond-shaped markings along the back. It usually feeds on crucifers: both cultivated brassicas and wild species such as flixweed, garlic mustard, perennial wall-rocket, wallflower, and wild radish. It has also been recorded feeding on nasturtium. The species overwinters as a pupa.

References

* Chinery, Michael (1986). ''Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe'' (Reprinted 1991) * Skinner, Bernard (1984). ''Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles''

External links

Garden carpet at ''UKMoths''''Fauna Europaea''''Lepiforum e.V.''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q765903 Xanthorhoe Moths described in 1758 Moths of Africa Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus