Zygaenidae : Procridinae
Cistus Forester
ADSCITA (Adscita) geryon geryon (Hübner,[1813])
Cistus Forester
ADSCITA (Adscita) geryon geryon (Hübner,[1813])
Life Cycle Guide
Description
Wingspan: 20-25mm
Worldwide Distribution: Europe - A.(A.) geryon geryon (Hübner,[1813) - England,Germany,Switzerland,NE France & Austria
UK Distribution: Localised sites confines to England and Wales -
UK Conservation Status -
Habitat: Chalk & Limestone Downs,warm & sloped with plenty of flowers for nectaring and Common Rock-rose for egg laying, which must be protected from grazers.
Similar Species -
Overwinters as: Larva
Observations: Although the three "Forester" moths in Britain are all similar, small differences help to differentiate the species and for the Cistus Forester it is the smaller size than the other two.The Scarce Forester has a tapered antenne at the tipwhereas the other two Foresters are round and blunt at the tip.In full sunshine I believe the green sheen of this moth is more golden green and under certain light pertains to have an apial crease which is false.(see photo 2 above)
There are two main groups of Cistus Forester within its range,firstly,the high altitude subspecies having more hair on the abdomen and thorax and secondly, whether dependent on the presence or absence of the cornutus in the aedeagus.
All the subspecies have a combination of those two factors and in the case of this moth, it is low altitude and less hairy and does contain genitalia bearing the cornutus. (Moths of Europe. P.Leraut vol.3. 2012)
Worldwide Distribution: Europe - A.(A.) geryon geryon (Hübner,[1813) - England,Germany,Switzerland,NE France & Austria
UK Distribution: Localised sites confines to England and Wales -
UK Conservation Status -
- UK BAP. - Not Listed
- Nationally Scarce B (Nb - BAP : 1997) = 31 - 100 10Km Squares
- Not Available
- Sphinx geryon (Hübner,[1813])
- Adscita turcosa Retzius, 1783
- Germany - Bavaria
Habitat: Chalk & Limestone Downs,warm & sloped with plenty of flowers for nectaring and Common Rock-rose for egg laying, which must be protected from grazers.
Similar Species -
- Scarce Forester - Jordanita globulariae - (Hübner, 1793)
- Forester - Adscita statices - (Linnaeus, 1758)
Overwinters as: Larva
Observations: Although the three "Forester" moths in Britain are all similar, small differences help to differentiate the species and for the Cistus Forester it is the smaller size than the other two.The Scarce Forester has a tapered antenne at the tipwhereas the other two Foresters are round and blunt at the tip.In full sunshine I believe the green sheen of this moth is more golden green and under certain light pertains to have an apial crease which is false.(see photo 2 above)
There are two main groups of Cistus Forester within its range,firstly,the high altitude subspecies having more hair on the abdomen and thorax and secondly, whether dependent on the presence or absence of the cornutus in the aedeagus.
All the subspecies have a combination of those two factors and in the case of this moth, it is low altitude and less hairy and does contain genitalia bearing the cornutus. (Moths of Europe. P.Leraut vol.3. 2012)
Subspecies
A.(A.) geryon geryon (Hübner,[1813) - England,Wales,Germany,Switzerland,NE France & Austria
A.(A.) geryon geryon (Hübner,[1813) - England,Wales,Germany,Switzerland,NE France & Austria
"Forester's" Lighting Comparisons
Ovum
Typical Habitat
Larval Food Plants Worldwide
Note - Plants hyperlinked in red below take the visitor to the relevant plant page on"Plants for a Future" website
where further information like photos,physical
characteristics,habitats,edible uses,medicinal
uses,cultivation,propagation,range,height etc. are clearly listed.
- Plant Families - in bold red below takes the visitor to the relevant "Lepi-plants" page where other butterflies & moths using the plants below are listed.
- Cistaceae - Rock-rose Family
- Helianthemum nummularium - Common rock-rose ( Only UK larval food plant)
- Helianthemum nummularium - Common rock-rose ( Only UK larval food plant)
Larval Food Plants
|
|
|
Taxonomy
Kingdom:
Subkingdom: Phylum: Subphylum: Class: Order: Superfamily: Family: Subfamily: Tribe: Genus: Subgenus: Accepted Species Name: Type Species ADSCITA: Original Species Name: Genus Names: Literary Ref: Type Location: Forms: Subspecies: |
Animalia
Eumetozoa Arthropoda Hexapoda Insecta Lepidoptera Zygaenoidea Zygaenidae Procridinae Procridini ADSCITA Retzius, 1783 Adscita Retzius, 1783 Adscita ( Adscita ) geryon geryon (Hübner,[1813]) - Adscita turcosa Retzius, 1783 - SPHINX geryon (Hübner,[1813]) - ADSCITA Retzius 1783-Genus = Ino Leach 1815 = Procris Fabricius 1807 - Sammlung europäischer Schmetterlinge / errichtet von Jacob Hübner in Augsburg. By Hübner, Jacob, 1761-1826 Lepidoptera 1 : Sphingae 1 : Pl.28 - f.130-131 - Not Specified - A.g.f.viridis Tutt, 1899 - Head,thorax and abdomen yellow-green,gold-tinged green,deep green A.g.f.virescens Agenjo,1937 - very dull green A.g.f.caerulea Tutt,1899 - bluish green - A.g.geryon (Hübner,[1813]) - Nominate subspecies - England,Wales ,Germany,Switzerland,NE France & Austria A.g.orientalis (Albertini, 1938) - possibly synonym of nominate form A.g.chrysocephala Nickerl,1845 - high peak region of Austria and Italy A.g.aeris (Verity,1946) stat.rev.- western area of French Alps & Italy A.g.parisensis Leraut ssp.nov - western areas of France,Paris & South of France (less Alps) |