Geometridae : Larentiinae
Argent & Sable
RHEUMAPTERA hastata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Forms : Aberrations : Subspecies
R.h.nigrescens (Cockerell, 1889) - Hebrides and far West Scotland
Argent & Sable
RHEUMAPTERA hastata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Forms : Aberrations : Subspecies
R.h.nigrescens (Cockerell, 1889) - Hebrides and far West Scotland
Kind Permission - © Maurice Pugh
Life Cycle
Description
Wingspan: ssp R.h. hastata-34-38mm : R.h. nigrescens-30-38mm
Worldwide Distribution: Europe : Siberia : Far East : N.Kazakhstan : N.Mongolia : China : Korea : Japan (Hokkaido) : from (Alaska - Newfoundland) - to (N.California-New Mexico- North Carolina).
UK Distribution -
Habitat: R.h. hastata-open woodland managed to provide a succession of Birch-Betula pendula normally less than 3M high preferred : Open grassland and moorland where Bog Myrtle-Myrica gale is present.
R.h. nigrescens occurs in wet moorland and bogs where Bog Myrtle-Myrica gale is plentiful especially on the coasts or at higher altitudes.
Similar Species:-
Larva: Late June-Mid August in Southern Britain : July-Early September further north. Larva spins two or three leaves together to form a tent and feeds initally on the inner tissue of the leaf before later eating through the leaf. The larva is black with fine white lateral lines and intermittent dashes along a lateral line adjacent to the legs.The looper caterpillar has a two pairs of feet at the rear and three pairs of feet beneath the head.
Pupa: Over-winters as pupa
Overwinters as: Pupa in plant debris at base of larval food plant
Observations: This beautiful moth gets its name from the heraldic terms,Argent-meaning silver or white(in painting) and Sable meaning black,which clearly describes the coloration of this rare moth.The outer black bands on both forewing and hindwing are broken by four white markings giving rise to the hastata part of it scientific name where "hasta" means spear. These are clearly shown in photo 2 below.
As described above this moth has two main forms in Britain R.h. hastata and R.h. nigrescens,the latter being generally much smaller with the dark markings often reduced and is restricted to Scotland.
A third form R.h. laxata is also found and has expanded white markings across the forewing,reducing the black markings.
The similar species Small Argent & Sable is generally similar to f nigrescens but is smaller and the outer black band seldom broken.
Argent & Sable are on the wing between April and May and are active during sunny spells or warm weather. My experience this year,my first in 50 years, is they are very skittish and are easily put to flight once they settle,which was not often. Males usually seen in search of females which in turn are often seen egg laying.
Worldwide Distribution: Europe : Siberia : Far East : N.Kazakhstan : N.Mongolia : China : Korea : Japan (Hokkaido) : from (Alaska - Newfoundland) - to (N.California-New Mexico- North Carolina).
UK Distribution -
- R.h. hastata - England-Nationally scarce-scatttered localities in England,Wales,Scotland and Ireland
- R.h. nigrescens - Scotland- occurs in Hebrides and north-west especially coastal and at higher altitudes and is possibly under-recorded
- NERC S.41 : 2008 (England) & NERC S.42 : 2009 (Wales) - Species "of principle importance for the purpose of conserving biodiversity
- Northern Ireland - Priority Species : 2010
- Scottish Biodiversity List : 2005
- Notable (Nb) = 31 - 100 10Km Squares
- BAP : 2007 - Priority Species
- Least Concern
- Phalaena hastata Linnaeus 1758
- Phalaena hastata Linnaeus, 1758
- Sweden
Habitat: R.h. hastata-open woodland managed to provide a succession of Birch-Betula pendula normally less than 3M high preferred : Open grassland and moorland where Bog Myrtle-Myrica gale is present.
R.h. nigrescens occurs in wet moorland and bogs where Bog Myrtle-Myrica gale is plentiful especially on the coasts or at higher altitudes.
Similar Species:-
- Small Argent & Sable EPIRRHOE tristata Linnaeus, 1758
Larva: Late June-Mid August in Southern Britain : July-Early September further north. Larva spins two or three leaves together to form a tent and feeds initally on the inner tissue of the leaf before later eating through the leaf. The larva is black with fine white lateral lines and intermittent dashes along a lateral line adjacent to the legs.The looper caterpillar has a two pairs of feet at the rear and three pairs of feet beneath the head.
Pupa: Over-winters as pupa
Overwinters as: Pupa in plant debris at base of larval food plant
Observations: This beautiful moth gets its name from the heraldic terms,Argent-meaning silver or white(in painting) and Sable meaning black,which clearly describes the coloration of this rare moth.The outer black bands on both forewing and hindwing are broken by four white markings giving rise to the hastata part of it scientific name where "hasta" means spear. These are clearly shown in photo 2 below.
As described above this moth has two main forms in Britain R.h. hastata and R.h. nigrescens,the latter being generally much smaller with the dark markings often reduced and is restricted to Scotland.
A third form R.h. laxata is also found and has expanded white markings across the forewing,reducing the black markings.
The similar species Small Argent & Sable is generally similar to f nigrescens but is smaller and the outer black band seldom broken.
Argent & Sable are on the wing between April and May and are active during sunny spells or warm weather. My experience this year,my first in 50 years, is they are very skittish and are easily put to flight once they settle,which was not often. Males usually seen in search of females which in turn are often seen egg laying.
Subspecies
R. h. hastata Linnaeus, 1758-West Midlands and Southern England
R. h. hastata Linnaeus, 1758-West Midlands and Southern England
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.
- Betulaceae - The Birch Family
- Betula pendula - Silver Birch
- Betula pubescens - Downy Birch
- Ericaceae - Heather Family
- Vaccinium myrtilus - Bilberry
- Vaccinium uliginosum - Bog Bilberry
- Grossulariaceae - Gooseberry Family
- Ribes nigrum - Blackcurrant
- Ribes rubrum - Redcurrant
- Myricaceae - Wax-myrtle Family
- Myrica gale - Bog Myrtle
- Salicaceae - Willow Family
- Salix phylicifolia -Tea-leaved Willow
Larval Food Plant Slideshow
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Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
Subkingdom: Phylum: Subphylum: Class: Order: Superfamily: Family: Subfamily: Tribe: Genus: Accepted Species Name: Type Species - RHEUMAPTERA: Original Species Name: Species Name: Nominotypical Subspecies: Literary Ref: Type Locality: Forms/Aberrations: Subspecies: |
Animalia
Eumetozoa Arthropoda Hexapoda Insecta Lepidoptera Geometroidea Geometridae Larentiinae Rheumapterini RHEUMAPTERA Hübner, 1822 Rheumaptera hastata (Linnaeus, 1758) - Phalaena hastata Linnaeus, 1758 - PHALAENA hastata (Linnaeus 1758) = hastaria Boisduval, 1840 - Phalaena hastata hastata (Linnaeus 1758) - Syst. Nat. (Edn 10) 1 : Title page : p.527 - n.180 - Sweden - R.h.f.demolita Prout, 1914-Extent of white varies - R.h.thulearia Herrich-Scåhffer, 1848-Iceland-Smoked with dark grey R.h.hastata Linnaeus 1758-West Midlands & S England R.h.nigrescens Cockerell, 1889-Hebrides and far West Scotland R.h.gothicata Guenée, 1857-North America/Canada |