The common wave (''Cabera exanthemata'') is a
moth of the family
Geometridae. The species was
first described by
Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in his 1763 ''
Entomologia Carniolica''. It is found throughout the
Palearctic
The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa.
The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...
region and the
Near East
The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...
.
The wings of this species are white, heavily spotted with tiny yellowish dots, which give it a buffish appearance. The wings are marked with narrow brown
fascia
A fascia (; plural fasciae or fascias; adjective fascial; from Latin: "band") is a band or sheet of connective tissue, primarily collagen, beneath the skin that attaches to, stabilizes, encloses, and separates muscles and other internal organs. ...
, three on the forewing, two on the hindwing. ab. ''arenosaria'' Haw. (= ''nogentina'' Th.-Mieg) is darker, more strongly dusted, the lines sometimes scarcely or not at all differentiated. ab. ''approximaria'' Haw. has the first two lines closely approximated, almost coalescent.ab.
''pellagraria'' Guen. is said to be larger, apex of forewing more produced, colour whiter, less irrorated, lines perhaps less waved, both wings with a black discal dot. Lyons. — ab. ''unicolorata'' Teich, almost unicolorous white, is said to be a prevalent form in Livonia. — The
wingspan is 30–35 mm. The egg is oval, green, with fine reticulation.The larva
is very variable, green or brown, usually with dark dorsal markings and sometimes with white dots.
[Prout, L. B. (1912–16). Geometridae. In A. Seitz (ed.) ''The Macrolepidoptera of the World''. The Palaearctic Geometridae, 4. 479 pp. Alfred Kernen, Stuttgar]
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One or two broods are produced each year and adults can be seen at any time between May and August. This species flies at night and is attracted to light.
The
larva, in the British Isles green with yellow rings and black and purple spots, feeds on
alder,
aspen,
beech
Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...
,
birch and
willow. The species overwinters as a
pupa.
References
Notes
# ''The flight season refers to the
British Isles. This may vary in other parts of the range.''
References
*
Chinery, Michael (1986, reprinted 1991). ''Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe''.
*
Skinner, Bernard (1984). ''
The Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles
''The Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles (Macrolepidoptera)'' by Bernard Skinner is a single volume identification guide to the macromoths of Britain and Ireland published by Viking Books, often referred by moth recorders ...
''.
External links
*
''Lepiforum e.V.''
Caberini
Moths described in 1763
Moths of Europe
Moths of Japan
Moths of the Middle East
Taxa named by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli
{{Caberini-stub