| | Insects of Britain and Ireland: the genera of Lepidoptera-Geometridae |
Apocheimia, Phigalia.
Adults. Nocturnal; relatively stout-bodied; with fully developed wings, or flightless. The flightless females apterous. Antennae of males bipectinate; bipectinate to the apex (and pale ochreous, in A. hispidaria), or apically simple (and blackish, in A. (Phigalia) pilosaria). Face rough (roughly hairy). Tongue absent.
Wingspan 35–50 mm. The outer margin of the forewing convexly curved to more or less straight. Forewings light ochreous grey sprinkled black, or pale ochreous-and-greenish, and transversely marked dark fuscous; with greenish-blackish melanic forms of A. pilosaria common in some districts; with a clear discal mark, or without a clear discal mark. Forewings of the male without a fovea. Hindwings plain; usually lighter than the forewings: whitish or light grey, speckled darker; without a clear discal mark; transversely lined (lines scarcely detectable), or without transverse lines.
Hindwings lacking a tubular vein 5. Vein 8 of the hindwings approximated to or anastomosed with the upper margin of the cell to the middle or beyond. Hindwing veins 6 and 7 separate.
Posterior tibiae of males 4-spurred.
Early stages. Larvae feeding on foliage of Quercus, Ulmus, etc.
British representation. 2 species; South-east England, Central-southern England, South-west England, English Midlands, Northern England, Southern Scotland, Northern Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Living adults found January to March. A. pilosaria (Pale Brindled Beauty, = Phigalia), A. hispidaria (Small Brindled Beauty).
Subfamily. Ennominae.
Illustrations. • Agriopis, Alsophila, Apocheima, Erannis, Lycia, Phigalia: Newman. 1a-b, Apocheima hispidaria (Small Brindled Beauty, male and apterous female); 2a-b, Phigalia pilosaria (Pale Brindled Beauty, male and apterous female); 3a-b, Lycia zonaria (Belted Beauty, male and vestigially-winged female); 4, Lycia hirtaria (Brindled Beauty); 5a-c, Agriopis leucophaearia (Spring Usher, males and vestigially-winged female); 6a-b, Agriopis marginaria (Dotted Border, male and vestigially-winged female); 7a-b, Agriopis aurantiaria, male and vestigially-winged female); 8a-c, Erannis defoliaria (Mottled Umber, males and apterous female); 9a-b, Alsophila aescularia (March Moth, male and apterous female). From Newman, 1869. • Apocheima pilosaria (=Phigalia pedaria): light and dark forms, photos. Apocheima pilosaria (= Phigalia pedaria). 4 “normal” and 3 melanic males, and an (apterous) female. Specimens from mixed deciduous woodland around Leek, N. Staffs, from 1948–1958, when the two forms were found by day on tree trunks with equal frequency, with only a few possible intermediates. Localities ostensibly "rural", but about 10 and 30 miles miles from the heavily industrial regions of Stoke-on-Trent and Manchester, respectively.
From Watson’s collection. • Oenochrominae and Ennominae: Kirby 47. OENOCHROMINAE. 17, Alsophila aescularia (March Moth). ENNOMINAE. 1, Epione vespertaria (Dark Bordered Beauty); 2, Epione repandaria (Bordered Beauty); 3, Cepphis advenaria (Little Thorn); 4, "Hypoplectis adspersaria", = ?; 5, Pseudopanthera macularia (Speckled Yellow); 6, Eilicrinia cordiaria; 7, Semiothisa alternaria (Sharp-angled Peacock); 8, Semiothisa signaria ; 9, Semiothisa liturata (Tawny Barred Angle); 10, cf. Epirrhanthis diversata; 11, Theria primaria (Early Moth); 12, Agriopis bajaria; 13, Agriopis leucophaearia (Spring Usher); 14, Agriopis aurantiaria (Scarce Umber); 15, Agriopis marginaria (Dotted Border); 16, Erannis defoliaria (Mottled Umber); 18, Phigalia pilosaria (Pale Brindled Beauty); 19, Apocheima hispidaria (Small Brindled Beauty); 20, Lycia pomonaria; 21, Lycia zonaria (Belted Beauty); 22, Lycia hirtaria (Brindled Beauty); 23, Biston strataria (Oak Beauty); 24, Biston betularia (Peppered Moth); 25, Menophra abruptaria (Waved Umber); 26, "Nychiodes lividaria", cf. Eunychiodes amygdalaria?. From Kirby 47, with updated names.
We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. This is much more easily achieved using the DELTA data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa. See also Guidelines for using data taken from Web publications.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. Insects of Britain and Ireland: the genera of Lepidoptera-Geometridae. Version: 14th February 2021. delta-intkey.com’.
