The autumnal moth (''Epirrita autumnata'') is a

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

of the family

Geometridae The geometer moths are moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyleti ...

. The species was first described by

Moritz Balthasar Borkhausen Moritz Balthasar Borkhausen (3 December 1760, Giessen – 30 November 1806, Darmstadt) was a German naturalist and forester. He took part in the production of ' by Johann Conrad Susemihl. He received his education in Giessen, and in 1796 started ...

in 1794. It is found throughout the

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. Th ...

region and the

Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

and has a much wider distribution than its two close relatives (see below). In

Sápmi is the cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sámi people. Sápmi includes the northern parts of Fennoscandia, stretching over four countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. Most of Sápmi lies north of the Arctic Circle, boun ...

(Lapland), in some years, the numerous autumnal moth

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e defoliate square miles of birch forests on mountains.

Description

This species is very similar to the

November moth The November moth (''Epirrita dilutata'') is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It can be found in the Palearctic realm in western Europe from central Scandinavia ...

, the small Autumnal moth, and the pale November moth, and identification is usually only possible by examining the

genitalia A sex organ, also known as a reproductive organ, is a part of an organism that is involved in sexual reproduction. Sex organs constitute the primary sex characteristics of an organism. Sex organs are responsible for producing and transporting ...

. In general, this is the least variable of the four, with melanic forms occurring less often. It is also usually on the wing earlier in the year, flying in September and October, although the flight seasons of all three species overlap. The

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...

feeds on a wide variety of trees and shrubs.Hogan, C. Michael (2008)
"Douglas-fir: ''Pseudotsuga menziesii''". globalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Strõmberg
The species overwinters as an

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...

Subspecies

*''E. a. altivagata'' *''E. a. autumnata''

Notes

* ''The flight season refers to the British Isles. This may vary in other parts of the range.''

References

* Chinery, Michael ''Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe'' 1986 (Reprinted 1991) * Skinner, Bernard '' Colour Identification Guide to the Moths of the British Isles'' 1984 *Tuzun, Sadik & Bent, Elizabeth (2006). ''Multigenic and Induced Systemic Resistance in Plants'', published by Birkhäuser, 521 pages

External links

Autumnal moth at ''UKMoths''''Fauna Europaea''''Lepiforum e.V.''
{{Authority control Epirrita Moths described in 1794 Moths of Japan Moths of Europe Taxa named by Moritz Balthasar Borkhausen