| Engrailed Small Engrailed |
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|---|---|
| Photo courtesy of Entomart.be | |
| Female | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Hexapoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Geometridae |
| Tribe: | Boarmiini |
| Genus: | Ectropis |
| Species: | E. crepuscularia |
| Binomial name | |
| Ectropis crepuscularia (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775= |
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| Synonyms | |
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Ectropis bistortata Goeze, 1781 |
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The Engrailed and Small Engrailed (Ectropis crepuscularia) are moths of the family Geometridae. They are distributed across most of Europe. There is an on-going debate as to whether they make up one species, or whether E. crepuscularia actually refers only to the Small Engrailed, with the Engrailed proper being separable as E. bistortata.
The ground colour of the wings is buff or grey variably marked with darker fascia. The darker markings are not usually as strong as in the rather similar Willow Beauty. Melanic forms occur fairly frequently. The wingspan is 38–45 mm. One or two broods are produced each year. In the British Isles the adults can be seen at any time between March and August; this time range may vary in other parts of this moth's range. The species flies at night and is attracted to light.
The greyish caterpillar is truly polyphagous, feeding on a huge range of plants (see list below). The species overwinters as a pupa.
Contents |
There is lots of debate as to whether Small Engrailed (Ectropis crepuscularia) and The Engrailed (Ectropis bistortata) are the same species, despite DNA profiling confirming they are conspecific.[1][2]