''Tethea or'', the poplar lutestring, 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

Drepanidae The Drepanidae are a family of moths with about 660 species described worldwide. They are generally divided in three subfamilies, which share the same type of hearing organ. Thyatirinae, previously often placed in their own family, bear a supe ...

. It was first described by

Michael Denis Johann Nepomuk Cosmas Michael Denis, also: ''Sined the Bard'', (27 September 1729 – 29 September 1800) was an Austrian Catholic priest and Jesuit, who is best known as a poet, bibliographer, and lepidopterist. Life Denis was born at Schärdin ...

and

Ignaz Schiffermüller Jeremias "Johann" Ignaz Schiffermüller (; 2 November 1727 – 21 June 1806) was an Austrian naturalist and Jesuit teacher who took a special interest in the Lepidoptera. In order to describe the colours of butterflies, he also looked for a syste ...

in 1775. The species can be found in Europe, northern and eastern Asia and

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 imago resembles '' Tethea ocularis''. 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 38–43 mm. The moths flies from April to August depending on the location. (MHNT) Tethea or - Boskovice Czech Republic- Male dorsal.jpg, ♂ (MHNT) Tethea or - Boskovice Czech Republic- Male ventral.jpg, ♂ △ The larvae feed on

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

and poplar, mainly ''

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 ...

''.

Subspecies

*''Tethea or or'' (Europe to Turkey) *''Tethea or akanensis'' (Matsumura, 1933) (Japan) *''Tethea or terrosa'' (Graeser, 1888) (Russia, Korea, Mongolia, China: Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Beijing, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Gansu, Xinjiang)

External links

Poplar lutestring on ''UKMoths''

''Lepiforum.de''''Vlindernet.nl''
Thyatirinae Moths described in 1775 Drepanid moths of Great Britain Moths of Europe Moths of Asia Taxa named by Michael Denis Taxa named by Ignaz Schiffermüller {{Thyatirinae-stub