Tethea or, the poplar lutestring, is a moth of the family Drepanidae. It was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. The species can be found in Europe, northern and eastern Asia and Japan. The imago resembles Tethea ocularis.

Tethea or
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Drepanidae
Genus: Tethea
Species:
T. or
Binomial name
Tethea or
Synonyms
  • Noctua or Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775
  • Noctua ypsilon-graecum Goeze, 1781
  • Noctua gamma-graecum Retzius, 1783
  • Noctua consobrina Borkhausen, 1790
  • Noctua octogena Esper, 1791
  • Phalaena (Noctua) gemina Beckwith, 1794
  • Tethea flavicornis Aurivillius, 1888
  • Palimpsestis or hela Rangnow, 1935
  • Tethea or nigrescens Werny, 1966
  • Palimpsestis rufa Houlbert, 1921
  • Cymatophora intermedia Houlbert, 1921
  • Palimpsestis kurilensis Matsumura, 1929
  • Palimpsestis akanensis koreibia Bryk, 1948


The wingspan is 38–43 mm. The moths flies from April to August depending on the location.

Figs 6, 6a larvae after final moult 6b pupa

The larvae feed on willow and poplar, mainly Populus tremula.

Subspecies

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  • 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)
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