''Xanthotype urticaria'', the false crocus geometer, is a
North American
moth
Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of ...
in the family
Geometridae
The geometer moths are moths belonging to the family Geometridae of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies. Their scientific name derives from the Ancient Greek ''geo'' γεω (derivative form of or "the earth"), and ''metr ...
.
Description
The wings are bright yellow with many brownish spots and blotches. Males have more of these spots than females. The wingspan measures 3–4 cm.
[Charles V. Covell, Jr. (2005). ''Moths of Eastern North America''. Virginia Museum of Natural History, Martinsville, VA. ]
Similar species
Similar species in the false crocus geometer's range include the crocus geometer (''
Xanthotype sospeta
''Xanthotype sospeta'', the crocus geometer, is a species of moth in the family Geometridae. It was first described by Dru Drury in 1773 from Jamaica. It is also found in North America, where it has been recorded from Nova Scotia to southern Brit ...
'') and the rufous geometer (''
Xanthotype rufaria
''Xanthotype rufaria'', the rufous geometer moth, is a species of geometrid moth in the family Geometridae
The geometer moths are moths belonging to the family Geometridae of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies. Their s ...
'').
The crocus geometer is larger, is pale yellow, and has little or no brown spotting.
[
The rufous geometer is a deeper yellow and has a reddish fringe.][
]
Flight
This moth is on the wing from May to November.[
]
Host plants
Here is a list of host plants used by the false crocus geometer:
* Red osier dogwood, '' Cornus sericea''
* Ground-ivy, '' Glechoma hederacea''
* Catnip, '' Nepeta'' sp.
* Rhodora, ''Rhododendron canadense
''Rhododendron canadense'', the rhodora or Canada rosebay, is a deciduous flowering shrub that is native to northeastern North America.
Classification
Today's botanists consider the rhodora to be a distant relative of the other North Ame ...
''
* Goldenrods, '''' sp.[
]
References
Moths of North America
Angeronini
Moths described in 1918
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