It is a well-known species distributed throughout the western Palearctic region except northern Europe, Corsica, Malta, Albania, and the Greek Islands. A few isolated populations live outside of Europe in northern and eastern Turkey, Caucasus, Transcaucasus, and Turkmenistan. Alsophila aescularia has also been reported to exist in the Hyrcanian relic temperate deciduous forests of Iran along the northern slopes of Alborz Mountain Range, called the Caspian Forest.
Descriptionedit
The wingspan is 25–35 mm. The colour of the forewings varies between pale brownish and grayish brown. There is a well-defined Usually dark brown central band. The lines are sharply toothed and on the opposite side to the band they are whitish. A prominent black dot is present on the hind wings. Darkened specimens are rare. In these the lines are extinguished or the butterfly is completely black. The females have no wings and are eight to ten millimeters long. The abdomen is brownish grey, the abdominal hair tuft is about two millimeters wide and thus narrower than the abdomen, which represents a differentiator against Alsophila aceraria. The palps are very short, the sensors are slightly toothed. The proboscis is stunted. The tibiae of the hind legs have four spurs that are very short in females.[1]
The bright pale-green larva reaches a length of about 26 mm. It is characterized by a very smooth skin and a flat head. There is a dark green dorsal line and yellowish-white lateral lines. In contrast to other geometrid caterpillars, they have an additional rudimentary abdominal leg pair in the fifth segment. Long, spider's-web like strings hang from oak trees in the southern hemisphere. The larvae hangs from one end.
^Prout, L. B. (1912–16). Geometridae. In A. Seitz (ed.) The Macrolepidoptera of the World. The Palaearctic Geometridae, 4. 479 pp. Alfred Kernen, Stuttgart.pdf
Feizpour, Shamsi, et al. “Alsophila Aescularia (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) a Genus and Species New to the Fauna of Iran, a Species from a Threatened Habitat.” SPIXIANA, vol. 41, no. 1, Oct. 2018, pp. 111–115. Web of Science, doi:0341-8391.
alsophila, aescularia, march, moth, species, moth, family, geometridae, found, throughout, europe, pest, fruit, trees, scientific, classification, domain, eukaryota, kingdom, animalia, phylum, arthropoda, class, insecta, order, lepidoptera, family, geometridae. Alsophila aescularia the March moth is a species of moth of the family Geometridae It is found throughout Europe and can be a pest of fruit trees Alsophila aescularia Scientific classification Domain Eukaryota Kingdom Animalia Phylum Arthropoda Class Insecta Order Lepidoptera Family Geometridae Genus Alsophila Species A aescularia Binomial name Alsophila aescularia Denis amp Schiffermuller 1775 Female laying eggs Caterpillar Contents 1 Distribution 2 Description 3 References 4 External linksDistribution editIt is a well known species distributed throughout the western Palearctic region except northern Europe Corsica Malta Albania and the Greek Islands A few isolated populations live outside of Europe in northern and eastern Turkey Caucasus Transcaucasus and Turkmenistan Alsophila aescularia has also been reported to exist in the Hyrcanian relic temperate deciduous forests of Iran along the northern slopes of Alborz Mountain Range called the Caspian Forest Description editThe wingspan is 25 35 mm The colour of the forewings varies between pale brownish and grayish brown There is a well defined Usually dark brown central band The lines are sharply toothed and on the opposite side to the band they are whitish A prominent black dot is present on the hind wings Darkened specimens are rare In these the lines are extinguished or the butterfly is completely black The females have no wings and are eight to ten millimeters long The abdomen is brownish grey the abdominal hair tuft is about two millimeters wide and thus narrower than the abdomen which represents a differentiator against Alsophila aceraria The palps are very short the sensors are slightly toothed The proboscis is stunted The tibiae of the hind legs have four spurs that are very short in females 1 The adults are active in March and April 2 Larva The bright pale green larva reaches a length of about 26 mm It is characterized by a very smooth skin and a flat head There is a dark green dorsal line and yellowish white lateral lines In contrast to other geometrid caterpillars they have an additional rudimentary abdominal leg pair in the fifth segment Long spider s web like strings hang from oak trees in the southern hemisphere The larvae hangs from one end The larva feeds on a range of trees apple Malus domestica European plum Prunus domestica Zwetschge Prunus domestica domestica blackthorn Prunus spinosa bird cherry Prunus padus lime Tilia species pedunculate oak Quercus robur sessile oak Quercus petraea northern red oak Quercus rubra field maple Acer campestris sycamore Acer pseudoplatanus elm Ulmus species hawthorn Crataegus species dog rose Rosa canina wild privet Ligustrum vulgare hornbeam Carpinus betulus beech Fagus sylvatica hazel Corylus avellana ash Fraxinus excelsior fly honeysuckle Lonicera xylosteum common buckthorn Rhamnus cathartica and silver birch Betula pendula References edit Prout L B 1912 16 Geometridae In A Seitz ed The Macrolepidoptera of the World The Palaearctic Geometridae 4 479 pp Alfred Kernen Stuttgart pdf Kimber Ian March Moth Alsophila aescularia Denis amp Schiffermuller 1775 UKmoths Retrieved 22 February 2021 Feizpour Shamsi et al Alsophila Aescularia Denis amp Schiffermuller 1775 a Genus and Species New to the Fauna of Iran a Species from a Threatened Habitat SPIXIANA vol 41 no 1 Oct 2018 pp 111 115 Web of Science doi 0341 8391 External links editLepidoptera of Belgium Archived 2017 03 15 at the Wayback Machine Lepiforum de Vlindernet nl in Dutch Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Alsophila aescularia amp oldid 1215369614, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
