The large emerald (''Geometra papilionaria'') 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 ...

which is the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

for 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 ...

. It is found 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 ...

region and the

Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

in and around deciduous forests, heathlands, marshland and in settlements close to woodland. The species was first 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''.

Description

This is a large and attractive moth, which, as the specific name suggests, is very

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

like. It has a

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 ...

of 50–65 mm. Newly emerged adults are distinctive pale green with slightly darker green and, especially, white

fascia A fascia (; : fasciae or fascias; adjective fascial; ) is a generic term for macroscopic membranous bodily structures. Fasciae are classified as superficial, visceral or deep, and further designated according to their anatomical location. ...

, though the green colouration fades after a few days. The characteristic white fascia take the form of three jagged, broken lines of white spots on the forewings, of which two semicircular rows continue over the hindwings.

Technical description and egg, larva and pupa

Bright green, the forewing usually with two lunulate-dentate white lnes, the hindwing with one, the lunules in the submedian area of forewing the thickest; both wings usually in addition with a faintly darker green cell-mark and some indistinct white intraneural spots distally to the postmedian line. Under surface similarly but more weakly marked, with no antemedian line.- ab. ''herbacearia'' Men. is a form in which both the lines are obsolete. It was originally described, from Amurland, and as a separate species - ab. ''cuneata'' Burr, is characterized by a large wedge-shaped white spot adjoining the discal mark proximally in addition to the usual markings.-ab. ''subcaerulescens'' Burr, is of a bluer green ground-colour than the normal, but is probably scarcely worth naming.- ab. ''deleta'' Burr, is another unimportant aberration, in which the distal series of white spots is entirely obsolete - in ab. ''subobsoleta'' Burr. the antemedian line of the fore-wing is likewise obsolete. — ab. ''alba'' Gillm. is entirely white, above and beneath., slightly tinged with yellowish. The egg of is approximately oval, broader at one end and here flattened; it is strong and heavy looking, the surface sculptured, with strongly marked cells, the micropyle shown by a shallow, circular rayed pit. The larva feeds on birch and alder, and has been closely studied for its beautiful protective adaptations. It is rather stout, rugose, the surface shagreened, the head slightly notched, the setae mostly with enlarged summits. The larva hibernates small, and is at this time brown in colour, protectively assimilated to the tiny twigs. In the spring many become green, and they are wonderfully like the birch catkins among which they feed, various small protuberances and projecting edges of segments enhancing the resemblance. The pupa is cylindrical, tapering regularly from the fourth abdominal segment to the anal extremity; spiracles and tubercles distinct, the latter dark-coloured, bearing short curved setae; anal armature consisting of 8 hooks; the generalolour is pale green, the wing-cases tinged with brown. Axel Hausmann, 2021 In: Axel Hausmann (Hrsg.): ''The Geometrid Moths of Europe''. 1. Auflage. Volume 1: (Introduction to the series. Archiearinae, Oenochrominae, Orthostixinae, Desmobathrinae, Alsophilinae Geometrinae) . Apollo Books, Stenstrup 2021 ISBN 978-90-04-32254-7

Campaea margaritata ''Campaea margaritata'', commonly known in the UK as the light emerald, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was Species description, first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1767 12th edition of Systema Naturae, 12th edition of ''Syste ...

'', ''

Comibaena bajularia The blotched emerald (''Comibaena bajularia'') is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was Species description, first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is found throughout Europe and the Near East. It has a ...

'', '' Hemithea aestivaria'' and '' Hylaea fasciaria'' All lack the white, interrupted, jagged spot line on the wings.

Biology

It flies at night from June to August''The flight season refers to the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

. This may vary in other parts of the range.'' and is attracted to light. The hibernating

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

is a reddish brown colour matching dead leaves. It turns green after hibernation to match spring leaves. It feeds mainly 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 ...

though it has also been recorded on

alder 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 ex ...

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

hazel 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, K ...

and

rowan The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus'' of the rose family, Rosaceae. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest species diversity in the Himalaya ...

. The chrysalis, enclosed in a flimsy silken web among the dead leaves, usually on the ground, is of a delicate green colour, dotted with buff on the back, and shaded with buff on the wing cases. Paul Robert - Geometra papilionaria.jpg, Caterpillar before (left) and after sprouting (right) Geometra papilionaria (larva) - Large emerald (caterpillar) - Большая зелёная пяденица (гусеница) (39126902870).jpg, Caterpillar Geometra papilionaria, Lodz(Poland)04(js).jpg, Front view of the moth

Subspecies

*''G. p. papilionaria'' Europe to the Urals, Southwest Siberia, Turkey, Caucasus, Transcaucasus *''G. p. herbacearia'' Ménétries, 1859 West Siberia - Southeast Siberia, Korea *''G. p. subrigua'' (Proute, 1935) Japan

References

*Chinery, Michael ''Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe'' 1986 (Reprinted 1991) *Skinner, Bernard ''Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles'' 1984

External links