''Xanthorhoe decoloraria'', the red carpet, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper in 1806 and it is found in northern Europe, to the east across the

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 ...

to Siberia and the north of North America; further south (as from Switzerland to Austro-Hungary) it seems to occur chiefly, if not exclusively, in the mountains.

Description

The wingspan is 19 – 26 mm. The forewings are pale greyish ochreous, with brown striae. The basal patch is fuscous-reddish, its edge curved. The median band is dull reddish, dark-striated, the edges suffused with dark ochreous-brown, the anterior curved, the posterior rounded and prominent in the middle. There is a dark ochreous-brown apical streak and the termen is suffused with grey. Hindwings are pale greyish-ochreous, with grey striae, and the termen is grey. The larva is variable, dull green or brown, black-dotted with pinkish incisions and two conspicuous blotches on segments 6 and 7, the latter large. Prout gives an account of the many variations.Prout, L. B. (1912–16). Geometridae. In A. Seitz (ed.) ''The Macrolepidoptera of the World''. The Palaearctic Geometridae, 4. 479 pp. Alfred Kernen, Stuttgar
pdf

Biology

Adults are on wing from mid-June to August. The larvae feed on '' Alchemilla'' species and possibly other low plants.

Subspecies

*''Xanthorhoe decoloraria decoloraria'' *''Xanthorhoe decoloraria hethlandica'' (Shetland Isles)

Similar species

Some forms closely resemble the also variable congener '' Xanthorhoe designata''

References

External links

Red carpet at ''UKMoths''''Lepiforum e.V.''
Xanthorhoe Moths of Europe Moths of Asia Moths of North America Taxa named by Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper {{Xanthorhoini-stub