Epirrhoe tristata

"Small argent and sable" redirects here. For the other moth with this common name, see Epirrhoe sperryi.

Small argent and sable
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Geometridae
Genus:	Epirrhoe
Species:	E. tristata
Binomial name
Epirrhoe tristata (Linnaeus, 1758)

Epirrhoe tristata, the small argent and sable, is a moth of the genus Epirrhoe in the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.

Distribution

The species can be found in the Palearctic realm, in western Europe from Scandinavia in the north to just south of the Alps, then east to the Caucasus, Russia, Russian Far East, and Siberia.[1]

Description

The wingspan is 24–26 mm. The forewing ground colour is white. There is a light brown central band with white edge lines. The outer margins of all wings are black with a small faint line.

Fig.5 larvae after final moult

Biology

The moth flies from May to July. The larva feeds on Galium species.[2] It hibernates as pupa in a cocoon on the ground.

Upland habitats include moorland, limestone grassland, woodland and hedgerows. Lowland habitats include steppe, heaths and mosses.

References

1. Peder Skou, 1997 The Geometroid Moths of North Europe: Lepidoptera - Drepanidae and Geometridae (Entomonograph) Brill Archive ISBN 978-90-04-07859-8
2. Gaden S. Robinson, Phillip R. Ackery, Ian J. Kitching, George W. Beccaloni and Luis M. Hernández Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants.

External links

• Small argent and sable at UKMoths
• Lepidoptera of Belgium Archived 2017-03-12 at the Wayback Machine
• Lepiforum e.V.
• De Vlinderstichting (in Dutch)