''Ennomos erosaria'', the September thorn, 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 can be found in 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 ...

in western

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and from central

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

. Its range extends to the northern

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

and east to the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. It is widespread in mixed and deciduous forests in Europe. The south eastern occurrence reaches Turkey and the Caucasus. The main habitat is dry deciduous forests and parks. In the Southern Alps, the species rises to an altitude of about 1600 metres. 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 30–35 mm. The length of the forewings is 17–21 mm. The ground colour is straw yellow to ochre-yellow. The colour is darker on hindwing

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 ...

and the hindwing also has a faint discal spot. The fasciae (bands) are brown. The inward arc under projection on distal forewing is prominent.The name typical form is yellowish. ab. ''tiliaria'' Hbn. is paler, the forewing straw-colour. — ab. ''tinicoloria'' Esp. is without the transverse lines. Axel Hausmann, A. , 2015 In: Axel Hausmann (Hrsg.):, 2015 ''The Geometrid Moths of Europe''. 1. Auflage. Volume 1: Ennominae I, Stenstrup 2015, 978-90-04-26573-8 Similar species: other ''

Ennomos ''Ennomos'' is a genus of moths in the family Geometridae erected by Georg Friedrich Treitschke Georg Friedrich Treitschke (; 29 August 1776 – 4 June 1842) was a German librettist, translator and lepidopterist. In 1800, he came to the ...

'' species. The moths fly in one generation from July to October. They are attracted to light. The larva which is rather elongate, with strong knob-shaped protuberances, altogether bearing a remarkable likeness to an oak twig is brown, now with a tinge of purple, now of greenish, the ventral surface paler greenish brown.It feeds on

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 ...

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 ...

, and

lime Lime most commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Bo ...

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 change in other parts of the range.

References

External links

September thorn on UKmothsFauna EuropaeaLepiforum.deVlindernet.nl
Ennomini Moths of Europe Moths of Asia Taxa named by Michael Denis Taxa named by Ignaz Schiffermüller Moths described in 1775 {{Ennominae-stub