''Leucoma salicis'', also known as the white satin moth or satin moth, 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

Erebidae The Erebidae are a family (biology), family of moths in the superfamily Noctuoidea. The family is among the largest families of moths by species count and contains a wide variety of well-known macromoth groups. The family includes the underwin ...

. 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''. It is found in Europe including the British Isles excluding the far north. In the east it is found across 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 ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The species was introduced to North America in the 1920s.

Technical description and variation

Leucoma salicis 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 37–50 mm. White, sometimes with black spots. The head and collar as well as the pectinations of the antennae are black. Tibiae and tarsi with broad black rings. The East-Asiatic species ''Leucoma candida'' (Staudinger, 1892) with different male genitalia structure, has much purer glossy white and entirely opaque, more thickly scaled, wings and is on the whole smaller, with narrower wings. From central and eastern Siberia, Mongolia, Amurland, Korea, China and Japan. Yellowish-grey specimens are ab. ''sohesti'' Capr. Specimens from Tian-shan with black pectinations of the antennae of the male are ''nigripennata'' Staudinger. ab. ''nigrociliata'' Fuchs has sharp black third of the costal margin and glossy black fringes; Germany, ab. ''rubicunda'' Strand has both the and hairy covering reddish, almost rose red at the costal and inner margins of the forewing (male); in southern Norway.Seitz, A. Ed. Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde, Verlag Alfred Kernen, Stuttgart Band 2: Abt. 1, Die Großschmetterlinge des palaearktischen Faunengebietes, Die palaearktischen Spinner und Schwärmer, 1912- 1913 Distribution of ''Leucoma salicis'' occupies most part of Eurasia south from the

Polar Circle A polar circle is a geographic term for a conditional circular line (arc) referring either to the Arctic Circle or the Antarctic Circle. These are two of the keynote circles of latitude (parallels). On Earth, the Arctic Circle is currentl ...

, excluding north-eastern

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

Life and habitat

''Leucoma salicis'' eggs are usually laid on tree trunks in clusters covered with a paper-like substance. Larvae are black with a row of light dorsal spots and a yellow lateral line. Segments four and five have a pair of fleshy pointed tubercles. The larvae feed on ''Salix'' and ''Populus'' species. Pupation takes place in a loose cocoon between leaves. The pupa is glossy black with white spots and yellow tufts. ''Leucoma salicis'' is generally active in June, July and August. The males begin to fly shortly before dusk. ''Leucoma salicis'' prefers damp locations, such as forest edges and hedges, as well as alleys, parks and gardens in urban areas. Leucoma salicis eggs.jpg, Eggs Leucoma salicis larva beentree.jpg, Caterpillar Leucoma salicis MHNT.CUT.2012.0.356.Les Mathes Female.jpg, Female Leucoma salicis MHNT.CUT.2012.0.356.Crest-Voland Male.jpg, Male

References

External links

White satin moth at ''UKMoths''''Fauna Europaea''
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''Lepiforum e.V.''
{{Authority control Lymantriinae Moths described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Moths of Japan Moths of Europe Moths of North America Moths of Asia