''Rheumaptera undulata'', the scallop shell, 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 ...

. It 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''. It is found in most of the

Palearctic realm 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. The ...

and North America. Liblikas

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 25–30 mm. The ground colour of the forewings is pale. The crosslines are darker, wavy, evenly spaced and numerous. The outer margin is pale brown with a scalloped fringe. The hindwings resemble the forewings but are paler. The larva is relatively powerful, naked except for some short white bristles. The dorsum is light to dark grey, with narrow white longitudinal stripes. The venter is pale.Jaan Viidalepp and Axel Hausmann, 2013 In: Axel Hausmann (Hrsg.): ''The Geometrid Moths of Europe''. 1. Auflage. Volume 3: Larentiinae I. Apollo Books, Stenstrup 2013, There is one generation per year with adults on wing from the end of May to August in Europe. The main habitat is light quarry and floodplain forests, bushy forest edges as well as gardens and park landscapes. In the Alps, the species rises to heights of 1500 metres. The

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 ...

e feed on birch (including '' Betula verrucosa'' and '' B. pubescens''), ''

Vaccinium ''Vaccinium'' is a common and widespread genus of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the heath family (Ericaceae). The fruits of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry, blueberry, bilberry (wh ...

'' (including '' V. myrtillus'' and '' V. uliginosum'') and willow species (including '' Salix myrtilloides'', '' S. caprea'', '' S. aurita'', '' S. cinerea'', '' S. myrsinifolia'' and '' S. phylicifolia''), as well as aspen (''

Populus tremula ''Populus tremula'' (commonly called aspen, common aspen, Eurasian aspen, European aspen, or quaking aspen) is a species of poplar native to cool temperate regions of the Old World. Description It is a substantial deciduous tree growing to t ...

''), ''

Populus balsamifera ''Populus balsamifera'', commonly called balsam poplar, bam, bamtree, eastern balsam-poplar, hackmatack, tacamahac poplar, tacamahaca, is a tree species in the balsam poplar species group in the poplar genus, ''Populus.'' The genus name ''Populus ...

'', ''

Berberis vulgaris ''Berberis vulgaris'', also known as common barberry, European barberry or simply barberry, is a shrub in the genus ''Berberis'' native to the Old World. It produces edible but sharply acidic berries, which people in many countries eat as a tar ...

'', '' Ribes alpinum'', '' Spiraea salicifolia'', rowan (''

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 ...

''), ''

Elaeagnus commutata ''Elaeagnus commutata'', the silverberry or wolf-willow, is a species of ''Elaeagnus'' native to western and boreal North America, from southern Alaska through British Columbia east to Quebec, south to Utah, and across the upper Midwestern United ...

'' and ''

Myrica gale ''Myrica gale'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Myricaceae native to parts of Eurasia and North America. Common names include bog-myrtle, sweet willow, Dutch myrtle, and sweetgale. Description ''Myrica gale'' is a deciduous shrub g ...

''. Larvae can be found in August and September. It overwinters as a pupa.

Subspecies

* ''Rheumaptera undulata undulata'' * ''Rheumaptera undulata sajana'' Bryk, 1921

References

External links

*
Lepiforum
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1310717 Rheumaptera Moths described in 1758 Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Moths of Japan Moths of North America Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus