| | Insects of Britain and Ireland: the genera of Lepidoptera-Geometridae |
Adults. Crepuscular and nocturnal (the females tending to fly later than the males). Antennae of males bipectinate; apically simple. Face smooth.
Wingspan 42–56 mm. The outer margin of the forewing slightly sigmoid-curved, or convexly curved. Forewings typically orange in the male, yellow in the female, but sometimes extensively brown over the basal and outer thirds; with a clear discal mark (this dark); with a distinct median band (the band orange or yellow), or without a median band. Forewings of the male without a fovea. The outer margin of the hindwings scalloped to smooth. Hindwings conspicuously patterned (dark-speckled or brown with an orange median fascia in males, sometimes yellow with a broad brown margin in females), or plain (in typical females); typically orange in the male and yellow in the female, but sometimes extensively brown over the outer third; predominantly yellow, or orange, or brown; with a clear discal mark, or without a clear discal mark; without transverse lines.
Hindwings lacking a tubular vein 5. Vein 8 of the hindwings approximated to or anastomosed with the upper margin of the cell to the middle or beyond. Hindwing veins 6 and 7 separate.
Thorax smooth. Posterior tibiae of males 4-spurred.
Early stages. Larvae feeding on foliage of Salix, Prunus, etc.
British representation. 1 species; South-east England, Central-southern England, South-west England, English Midlands, Northern England, Southern Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Living adults found June and July. A. prunaria (Orange Moth).
Subfamily. Ennominae.
Illustrations. • Angerona prunaria (Orange Moth: colour variants, photos). Angerona prunaria (Orange Moth). Light and melanic forms respectively of male (1 & 2) and female (3&4). The species is dimorphic throughout its range, the pale form being commoner although the dark form is genetically almost completely dominant (Ford, 1955). Seemingly an example of rural melanism.
Specimens collected by S.G. Smith at Castor Hanglands (Northants.), 1954. From Watson’s collection. • Ennominae (‘Thorns’, etc.): Kirby 46. ENNOMINAE. 1, Ennomos quercinaria (August Thorn); 2, Ennomos autumnaria (Large Thorn); 3, Ennomos alniaria (Canary-shouldered Thorn); 4, Ennomos erosaria (September Thorn); 5, Selenia dentaria (Early Thorn); 6, Selenia lunularia (Lunar Thorn); 7, Selenia tetralunaria (Purple Thorn); 8, Apeira syringaria (Lilac Beauty); 9, Artiora evonymaria; 10, Odontopera bidentata (Scalloped Hazel); 11, Colotois pennaria (Feathered Thorn); 12, Crocallis elinguaria (Scalloped Oak); 13, Plagodis dolabraria (Scorch-wing); 14, Angerona prunaria (Orange Moth); 15, Ourapteryx sambucaria (Swallow-tailed Moth); 16, Opisthograptis luteolata (Brimstone Moth). From Kirby 36, with updated names. • ‘Thorns’ - Angerona, Apeira, Colotois, Crocallis, Ennomos, Odontopera, Selenia: Newman. 1, Apeira syringaria (Lilac Beauty); 2, Ennomos quercinaria (August Thorn); 3, Ennomos alniaria (Canary-shouldered Thorn); 4, Ennomos autumnaria (Large Thorn); 5, Ennomos fuscantaria (Dusky Thorn); 6, Ennomos erosaria (September Thorn); 7, Selenia dentaria (Early Thorn); 8, Selenia lunularia (Lunar Thorn); 9, Selenia tetralunaria (Purple Thorn); 10, Odontopera bidentata (Scalloped Hazel); 11, Crocallis elinguaria (Scalloped Oak); 12a-b, Angerona prunaria (Orange Moth, male and female); 13, Colotois pennaria (Feathered Thorn). From Newman, 1869.
We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. This is much more easily achieved using the DELTA data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa. See also Guidelines for using data taken from Web publications.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. Insects of Britain and Ireland: the genera of Lepidoptera-Geometridae. Version: 14th February 2021. delta-intkey.com’.
