''Endromis'' is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

moth genus in the family

Endromidae Endromidae is a family of moths consisting of 16 genera with 72 species. This relictual family is related to the families Carthaeidae, Anthelidae, and Phiditiidae as part of the bombycine group "CAPOPEM". Genera The following genera are re ...

erected by

Ferdinand Ochsenheimer Ferdinand Ochsenheimer (17 March 1767 – 2 November 1822) was a German actor and entomologist (lepidopterist). Life Ochsenheimer was born and brought up in Mainz (then in the Electorate of Mainz) and began to show an interest in butterflies ...

in 1810. Its only species, ''Endromis versicolora'', the Kentish glory, was described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. It is found in the

Palaearctic 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 ...

region. 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 ...

is 50–70 mm. The adults fly from March to May. Females are much larger and paler than males and fly only at night in order to lay eggs. Males, which fly both by night and day, can detect female

pheromones A pheromone () is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormones outside the body of the secreting individual, to affect the behavi ...

from a distance up to 2 km. Yellow at first, then purplish-brown eggs are laid in two or three rows around a thin birch branch. After 10 to 14 days little black caterpillars hatch. The

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...

s primarily feed on

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

(''Betula'' species), but accept other trees and shrubs: ''

Alnus Alders are trees of the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus includes about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few species ext ...

'', ''

Corylus Hazels are plants of the genus ''Corylus'' of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family, Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, ...

'', ''

Tilia ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperateness, temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Great Bri ...

'' and ''

Carpinus Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the family Betulaceae. Its species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Common names The common English name ''hornbeam'' derives from the hard ...

'' species. It is green with paler stripes. At first it feeds in small groups of 15 to 30 larvae, but mature caterpillars feed individually and only at night. ''Endromis versicolora'' has a single generation per year; it overwinters as a

pupa A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages th ...

in a thin loose strong cocoon buried shallowly in the soil. Endromis versicolora MHNT.CUT.2011.0.446. Male.Allier (Hautes-Pyrénées) Dos.jpg, Male dorsal side, MHNT Endromis versicolora MHNT.CUT.2011.0.446. Male.Allier (Hautes-Pyrénées) ventre.jpg, Male ventral side, MHNT Endromis versicolora MHNT.CUT.2011.0.446. female.Allier (Hautes-Pyrénées) Dos.jpg, Female dorsal side, MHNT Endromis versicolora MHNT.CUT.2011.0.446. female.Allier (Hautes-Pyrénées) Ventre.jpg, Female ventral side, MHNT

External links

"67.001 BF1644 Kentish Glory ''Endromis versicolora'' (Linnaeus, 1758)"
''UKMoths''.
''Fauna Europaea''"06784 ''Endromis versicolora'' (Linnaeus, 1758) - Birkenspinner"
''Lepiforum e.V.'' Endromidae Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Macro-moths of Great Britain Moths described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Monotypic moth genera {{Bombycoidea-stub