Biology:Tethea ocularis

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Short description: Species of false owlet moth

Tethea ocularis
Tethea ocularis FvL.jpg
Scientific classification edit
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Drepanidae
Genus: Tethea
Species:
T. ocularis
Binomial name
Tethea ocularis
Synonyms
  • Phalaena ocularis Linnaeus, 1767
  • Phalaena octogesimea Hübner, 1786
  • Tethea octogena (Esper, 1788)
  • Cymalophora octogesima var. caucasica Krulikowsky, 1901
  • Tethea ocularis caucasica Werny, 1966
  • Tethea ocularis kosswigi Werny, 1966
  • Tethea ocularis sareptensis Zolotuhin, 1997
  • Tethea ocularis tsinlingensis Werny, 1966
  • Cylamophora osthelderi Bytinski-Salz & Brandt, 1937
  • Tethea caspica Ebert, 1976

Tethea ocularis, the figure of eighty, is a moth of the family Drepanidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1767 12th edition of Systema Naturae. It is found throughout Continental Europe and has a scattered distribution in England and Wales, although it is absent from Scotland and Ireland.

Illustration from John Curtis's British Entomology Volume 5
Fig 7, 7a larvae after final moult


The wingspan is 35–45 mm; the dark brown forewings being marked with dark-centred white stigmata which do look rather like the number 80. The hindwings are grey. The species flies from May to July[1] and is attracted to light and sugar.

The grey and white larva feeds on poplar and aspen. The species overwinters as a pupa.

Subspecies

  • Tethea ocularis ocularis
  • Tethea ocularis ocularis amurensis (Warren, 1912) (Russian Far East, north-eastern and northern China, Mongolia, Korea)
  • Tethea ocularis opa Zolotuhin, 1997 (Uzbekistan, China: Xinjiang)
  • Tethea ocularis osthelderi (Bytinski-Salz & Brandt, 1937) (Iran)
  • Tethea ocularis tanakai Inoue, 1982 (Japan)
  1. ^ The flight season refers to the British Isles. This may vary in other parts of the range.

References

  • Chinery, Michael (1986, reprinted 1991). Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe.
  • Skinner, Bernard (1984). The Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles.

External links

Wikidata ☰ Q44970 entry