Aplocera efformata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Geometridae
Genus:
Aplocera
Species:
A. efformata
Binomial name
Aplocera efformata
(Guenée, 1858)
Synonyms
  • Anaitis efformata Guenée, 1858
  • Aplocera britonata Leraut, 1995

Aplocera efformata, the lesser treble-bar, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Achille Guenée in 1858. It is known from Europe, Morocco and Anatolia.

It has a wingspan of 35–41 mm. Aplocera efformata is difficult to certainly distinguish from its congener Aplocera plagiata. It is best distinguished from this that the innermost of the wing's three dark cross-bands are fairly straight with a marked bend near the front edge, not evenly curved. Moreover, it is mostly slightly smaller, the base colour of the forewing is slightly lighter and the cross-bands slightly darker coloured, so that they seem more pronounced, and the slash at the wing tip is lighter in colour, brownish, not black. The forewings are pointed, light grey with three dark grey cross-bands. The innermost of these is double, quite straight with a marked kink near the front edge. The two outermost are triple and evenly curved. the outermost cross band has two, more or less marked triangular projections on the outer side. At the wing tip there is a short, slightly diffuse, brownish slash. The hindwings are greyish-white. See Townsend et al.[1]

There are two to three generations per year with adults on wing from the end of April to mid-November.

The larvae feed on Hypericum perforatum. Larvae can be found from June to August and from September to May. It overwinters in the larval stage. Pupation takes place beneath the soil.

Subspecies

  • Aplocera efformata efformata
  • Aplocera efformata britonata Leraut, 1995

References

  1. ↑ 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.
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