Scotopteryx luridata, the July belle, is a species of moth in the family Geometridae. It is found in most of Europe, except Finland and the Baltic region.[1] Further East it is found in Turkey, Georgia and Transcaucasia.
| July belle | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Geometridae |
| Genus: | Scotopteryx |
| Species: | S. luridata
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| Binomial name | |
| Scotopteryx luridata (Hufnagel, 1767)
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| Synonyms | |
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The wingspan is 32–38 mm. The ground colour of the forewing is grey, with a middle darker band between two cross lines. The discal spot is in this band. Apical streak present. Very similar to Scotopteryx mucronata but the discal spot on the forewings lies closer to the antemedian line (inner line) than in mucronata and the hindwings are slightly darker and without markings.. See Townsend et al.[2]
The caterpillars are brightly coloured and have a brownish stripe pattern. Adults are on wing from June to August.[3]
The larvae feed on Genista (including Genista anglica) and Ulex species. Larvae can be found from August to April. The species overwinters in the larval stage.[4]
Subspecies
edit- Scotopteryx luridata luridata
- Scotopteryx luridata plumbaria (Fabricius, 1775)
References
edit- ^ Fauna Europaea
- ^ Martin C. Townsend, Jon Clifton and Brian Goodey (2010). British and Irish Moths: An Illustrated Guide to Selected Difficult Species. (covering the use of genitalia characters and other features) Butterfly Conservation.
- ^ UK Moths
- ^ Vlindernet.nl
External links
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