Fast Fauna Facts #5 - Large Emerald (Geometra papilionaria)
Family: Geometer Moth Family (Geometridae)
IUCN Conservation Status: Unassessed
Often mistaken for a butterfly due to its colourful wings, this large green moth can be found across most of Eurasia so long as suitable host plants on which to lay eggs (mainly birches, hazels and alders) are present. Adults are active mainly at night and breed in the late summer, with the caterpillars hatching in the early autumn/fall; newly hatched caterpillars of this species are brown and blend in with the fallen leaves of deciduous trees, but after hibernating over winter and emerging again in the early spring they gradually develop green colouration that allows them to blend in with newly-grown live leaves before pupating. Young adult Large Emeralds are a vivid emerald green, but as they get older their colour slowly fades (older adults are generally pale lime in colour.)
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The large emerald is a part of the family Geometridae. The species was first described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus. Its common name references its color and size compared to other emerald moths. Its species name papilionaria is a reference to this moth’s butterfly like appearance according to Wikipedia. Adult moths rest with their wings angled and open like butterflies.
Description Newly emerged moths in this soecies are pale and dark green color with white patterned bands classed “fascia” which fades after a few days according to Wikipedia. The fascia change into broken lines of white, two on the hindwings and three on the forewings. However according to Butterfly Conservation, the large emerald is the one of the few emerald moths whose color does not fade.
Variations in color include:
ab. herbacearia Men.: the lines are “obsolete.” Orginally described as a separate species.
ab. cuneata Burr,: a large “web shaped” white spot in addition to the usual patterns.
ab. subcaerulescens Burr,: a more blue green color than normal.
ab. deleta Burr,: the “distal” (farthest from of the moths body) part of the moth’s white patterning is “obsolete.”
ab. subobsoleta Burr.: the white antemedian line one the foreign is “obsolete.”
ab. alba Gillm: the moth is entirely white and tinged with yellow.
Wingspan of 5.0 - 6.5 cm (≈2.36 - 2.56 in)
The larvae described as “rather stout, rugose” (corrugated) “the surface shagreened” (similar texture to a type of raw hide), “the head slightly notched, the setae” (bristle or hair like structures) “mostly with enlarged summits.” The larvae is a reddish brown when hibernating to match dead leaves and things and turns a green in the spring after hibernation.
Diet and Habitat This moth’s larvae feeds on birch, such as Downy Birch (Betula pubescens) and Silver Birch (Betula pendula), but also on Hazel (Corylus avellana), Alder (Alnus glutinosa), rowan, and possibly Beech (Fagus sylvatica).
This moth is present in the Palearctic region and the Near East. They inhabit deciduous forests, heathlands, marshland, in settlements close to woodland, grassland, well-established hedgerows, gardens, and parks.
Mating This species is seen flying at night from June to August in Britain. The egg is broad at one end and more flattened at the other with an oval like shape.
Predators These moths fly at night and are attracted to light. Adults occasionally fly in the tree tops on warm, sunny days. Larvae camouflage themselves during hibernation, being red-brown to match dead leaves and twigs and green to match spring leaves after hibernation. Not specific predators are listed.
Fun Fact The large emerald moth has 4 subspecies:
G. p. papilionaria: found in Europe to the Urals, Southwest Siberia, Turkey, Caucasus, Transcaucasus
G. p. herbacearia Ménétries: described in 1859, found in West Siberia - Southeast Siberia, Korea
G. p. subrigua: described in 1935 by Proute, found in Japan
(Source: Wikipedia [1][2][3][4], Butterfly Conservation, Amateur Entomologists' Society)
