The purple thorn (''Selenia tetralunaria'') 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 ...

. The species was first described by

Johann Siegfried Hufnagel Johann Siegfried Hufnagel (17 October 1724, Uckerfelde, Falkenwalde, Prenzlau district, Brandenburg – 23 February 1795, Langenfeld, Sternberg district) was a German parson and entomologist (lepidopterist). Life Until the late 20th century nothin ...

in 1767. It is a species of both

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

and

Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...

. It has a scattered distribution in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

but is absent from

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. This species is dark purplish brown, paler towards the

termen Termen is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Brig (district), Brig in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Valais in Switzerland. History Termen is first mentioned in 1201 as ''Terman''. Geography Termen has an ar ...

, with a dark spot at the apex of the forewing. Both wings are marked with a comma-shaped white mark. The margins of the

wings A wing is a type of fin that produces both lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-drag ratio, which compares the bene ...

are angular, giving the species a distinctive shape. Two broods are produced each year and they differ considerably in size and colour. Adults of the spring brood, which fly in April and May, have 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 46–52 mm. Moths of the summer brood, flying in July and August, are smaller (wingspan 44–46 mm) and darker. The caterpillar is reddish brown, mottled with darker brown, and with pale greyish. The species flies at night and is attracted to light. 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 ...

feeds on a variety of

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s and

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s (see list below). The species 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 ...

Notes

#''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.''

Recorded food plants

*''Alnus'' –

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 ...

*''Betula'' –

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 ...

*''Fraxinus'' –

European ash ''Fraxinus excelsior'', known as the ash, or European ash or common ash to distinguish it from other types of Fraxinus, ash, is a flowering plant species in the olive family Oleaceae. It is native throughout mainland Europe east to the Caucasus ...

*''

Malus ''Malus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 32–57 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including the domesticated orchard apple, crab apples (sometimes known in North America as crabapples) and wild apples. The genus i ...

'' – apple *''Populus'' –

black poplar ''Populus nigra'', the black poplar, is a species of cottonwood poplar, the type species of section ''Aigeiros'' of the genus ''Populus'', native to Europe, southwest and central Asia, and northwest Africa.Flora Europaea''Populus nigra''/ref> ...

*''

Prunus ''Prunus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs from the family (biology), family Rosaceae. The genus includes plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots and almonds (collectively Drupe, stonefruit). The genus has a cosm ...

'' *''Pyrus'' –

pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in late summer into mid-autumn. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the Family (biology), family Rosaceae, bearing the Pome, po ...

*''Quercus'' –

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

*''Rosa'' –

rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

References

Chinery, Michael Michael Chinery (born 1938, in London) is an English naturalist. He studied in Cambridge where he graduated in natural sciences and anthropology. He edits '' Cecidology'', the journal of the British Plant Gall Society The British Plant Gall ...

(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. The first edition was published in 1984, and a second, revi ...

''.

External links

*
''Fauna Europaea''''Lepiforum e.V.''
Ennomini Moths described in 1767 Moths of Japan Moths of Europe Moths of Asia Taxa named by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel {{Ennominae-stub