Abraxas grossulariata
| Magpie moth Abraxas grossulariata | |
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| Mounted specimen | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Hexapoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Geometridae |
| Tribe: | Abraxini |
| Genus: | Abraxas |
| Species: | A. grossulariata |
| Binomial name | |
| Abraxas grossulariata Linnaeus, 1758 | |
| Synonyms | |
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Abraxas grossulariata is a moth of the family Geometridae, native to the Palaearctic ecozone and North America. Its distinctive speckled colouration has given it a common name of magpie moth. The caterpillar is similarly coloured to the adult, and may be found as a pest feeding on the leaves of shrubs such as gooseberry.
The length of the forewing is 18–25 mm.The strikingly patterned forewings have a white ground cololor, with six transverse series of black stains, partly associated with a pale yellow basal cross-band and another through the central area of the forewing.The hind wings are paler, and have much less dark stains on them, and these are also small.
It is a highly variable species with many different forms. Research using Abraxas grossulariata led to the discovery of sex-linked characters.
Subspecies
- Abraxas grossulariata grossulariata
- Abraxas grossulariata karafutonis Matsumura, 1925 (Sakhalin)
- Abraxas grossulariata conspurcata Butler, 1878 (Japan)
- Abraxas grossulariata dsungarica Wehrli, 1939 (Dzungaria)
Recorded foodplants
References
- G. Evelyn Hutchinson, 1969 Some continental European aberrations of Abraxas grossulariata Linn. (Lepidoptera) with a note on the theoretical significance of the variation in the speciesTransactions of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences v. 43, p. 1-24.
- G. Evelyn Hutchinson, 1974 New and inadequately described aberrations of Abraxas grossulariata (Linn.) (Lep. Geometridae). Entomological Record 86:199–206.
External links
- Vlindernet (Dutch)
- Recente waarnemingen on waarneming.nl (Dutch)
- Lepidoptera of Belgium
- Funet Synoymy
- Lepiforum
- European Butterflies and Moths
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