''Acasis viretata'', the yellow-barred brindle, 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

Jacob Hübner Jacob Hübner (20 June 1761 – 13 September 1826, in Augsburg) was a German entomologist. He was the author of ''Sammlung Europäischer Schmetterlinge'' (1796–1805), a founding work of entomology. Scientific career Hübner was the author of '' ...

in 1799. It is found across most of Europe and 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 ...

to Korea. In northern India it is represented by ''Acacis viretata himalayica'' (Prout, 1958). It is also present in North America. This species occurs in many different habitats, including deciduous and mixed forests, rocky slopes and valleys, as well as bushy meadows, bogs and taiga areas. In the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

, it can still be found at an altitude of 1700 meters. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

ranges from 25–29 mm.It is slender, grey-green moth. The green colour fades quickly and older specimens tend to look yellowish. The forewing is yellowish olive-green, in the middle with a broad, grey transverse band that has wavy inner and outer edges. Along the outer edge of the wing there is a white band interrupted by small, black double spots, this is a characteristic feature. The hindwing is rather small with long hair fringes, silky greyish-white. The caterpillar is green, more or less tinged with pinkish; it has three interrupted pink lines on the back, the central one sometimes inclining to purple, and broken up into large wine-red to red heart-shaped spots; the head is brown, sometimes marked with purplish, and there are two tiny points on the last segment. It varies in the green tint and also in marking. Adults are on wing from mid-April to October in two generations in western Europe. The larvae feed on a wide variety of plants, including ''

Rhamnus frangula ''Frangula alnus'', commonly known as alder buckthorn, glossy buckthorn, or breaking buckthorn, is a tall deciduous shrub in the family Rhamnaceae. Unlike other "buckthorns", alder buckthorn does not have thorns. It is native to Europe, northern ...

'', ''

Hedera helix ''Hedera helix'', the common ivy, European ivy, King's Choice ivy, or just ivy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae. It is native to most of Europe and parts of western Asia. Ivy is a clinging evergreen vine that grows on t ...

'', ''

Ligustrum A privet is a flowering plant in the genus ''Ligustrum''. The genus contains about 50 species of erect, deciduous or evergreen shrubs or trees, with a native distribution from Europe to tropical and subtropical Asia, and with one species each ...

'', ''

Ilex aquifolium ''Ilex aquifolium'', the holly, common holly, English holly, European holly, or occasionally Christmas holly, is a species of flowering plant in the family Aquifoliaceae, native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa, and southwest As ...

'', ''

Cornus sanguinea ''Cornus sanguinea'', the common dogwood or bloody dogwood, is a species of dogwood native to most of Europe and western Asia, from England and central Scotland east to the Caspian Sea. It is widely grown as an ornamental plant. Description It ...

'' and ''

Sorbus aucuparia ''Sorbus aucuparia'', commonly called rowan (, also ) and mountain-ash, is a species of deciduous tree or shrub in the rose family. The tree has a slender trunk with smooth bark, a loose and roundish crown, and its leaves are pinnate in pairs o ...

'' HOSTS database, National History Museum, London
Retrieved 2024

Similar species

*'' Acasis appensata''

References

External links

Yellow-barred brindle at ''UKMoths''''Fauna Europaea''''Lepiforum e.V.''
Trichopterygini Moths described in 1799 Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Moths of North America Taxa named by Jacob Hübner {{Trichopterygini-stub