Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
745
744
744
Female lilac beauty moth (
Apeira syringaria
).
745
Male peppered moth (
Biston betularia
).
746
narrow, with a vestigial pair of prolegs on the fifth
abdominal segment (cf.
Operophtera brumata
, p. 306).
Pupa:
10 mm long; brown and stumpy; cremaster with
two curved, divergent spines.
LIFE HISTORY
Adults occur from mid-February to mid-April. The
males, which are readily attracted to light, are
commonly found at rest during the daytime on walls,
fences and other surfaces; the flightless females,
however, are rarely seen. Eggs, which are deposited in
compact bands around the twigs of host plants, hatch in
April. The larvae then feed on the foliage of various
trees and shrubs, and on the blossoms of early-
flowering hosts. When fully grown, in late May or June,
larvae enter the soil and each pupates in a silken cocoon.
746
Larva of peppered moth (
Biston betularia
).
hibernating and resuming their activity in the spring.
Fully grown larvae pupate on the host plant, usually in
early June, each in a pendulous, silken cocoon to which
the cast skin of the larva is also attached. The adults
(35-40 mm wingspan) are tawny yellow, marked with
purplish white and red; they appear in June and July,
often with a partial second generation in the autumn.
DAMAGE
Larvae damage unopened buds but they cause most
harm to the young foliage. They also attack the
blossoms of flowering trees and shrubs, biting holes
into the petals and destroying the stamens as well as
other floral parts.
Biston betularia
(Linnaeus) (
745-746
)
Peppered moth
Generally common on various trees and shrubs,
including beech (
Fagus sylvatica
), birch (
Betula
), crab-
apple (
Malus
), elm (
Ulmus
), flowering cherry (
Prunus
),
larch (
Larix
) and rose (
Rosa
); larvae also occur on
herbaceous plants such as
Chrysanthemum
and pot
marigold (
Calendula officinalis
). Eurasiatic. Widely
distributed in Europe.
Apeira syringaria
(Linnaeus) (
744
)
syn.
Phalaena syringaria
(Linnaeus)
Lilac beauty moth
Although not a significant pest, the unusual larvae of
this species are sometimes noticed on cultivated elder
(
Sambucus
), honeysuckle (
Lonicera
), lilac (
Syringa
)
and privet (
Ligustrum vulgare
). Larvae, which are most
often found in May, are yellowish brown, marked with
red and purplish red, with a slightly hairy dorsal surface,
two small projections on the second and third
abdominal segments and a distinctive, forked projection
on the fourth. They feed briefly in the autumn before
DESCRIPTION
Adult:
42-55 mm wingspan; body and wings white,
peppered with black; entirely black (ab.
carbonaria
)
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