Geometridae : Larentiinae
Treble-bar
APLOCERA plagiata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Subspecies
A.p.scotica (Richardson,1952) - Scotland
Treble-bar
APLOCERA plagiata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Subspecies
A.p.scotica (Richardson,1952) - Scotland
Life Cycle Guide
Description
Alternative Name: St. John's Wort Inchworm (USA)
Wingspan: 37-43mm
Worldwide Distribution: From Iberian Peninsula north to Scandinavia and East to Greece,Crete and Turkey,distribution extends to Western India and Japan.
UK Distribution: Resident : Locally common over Britain and Ireland : Hebrides and Orkney Isles : Isle of Man : Rare on the Channel Islands.
UK Conservation Status -
Habitat: Calcareous Grassland : Moorland : Heathland : Woodland Rides : Gardens : Field Margins : Sea Cliffs
Similar Species -
Larvae often resemble twigs and are reddish brown with weak grey stripes, growing to about 25mm long,giving it the strange USA name of St John's Wort Inchworm.
Pupa: Pupates underground
Overwinters as: Early stage larva
Observations: Clearly named from the three cross bands on the forewings, this moth is very difficult to distinguish from its similar species the Lesser Treble-bar A.efformata, although there are some clearly defining features, especially when viewed from the underside.
A.plagiata have long pointed abdomen tips which are narrow at the tip whereas A.efformata have shorter abdomen tips which are wider at the tip.
The narrow basal cross band (antemedian facia) on this moth, when viewed on upperside, is slightly obtuse or at 90 to leading edge of wing whereas in A.efformata it is slightly acute and the angle is sharp.
Hindwinds are buff coloured.
Markings on the Treble-bar tend to be stronger than that on its similar species.
In A.p.scotica the forewing tends to be darker and the light brown cross bands at the leading edge of the forewing turn to darker brown.
The moth is a resident and flies at dusk. Small numbers come to light.
Wingspan: 37-43mm
Worldwide Distribution: From Iberian Peninsula north to Scandinavia and East to Greece,Crete and Turkey,distribution extends to Western India and Japan.
UK Distribution: Resident : Locally common over Britain and Ireland : Hebrides and Orkney Isles : Isle of Man : Rare on the Channel Islands.
UK Conservation Status -
- Common = >300 10Km Squares
- Least Concern
- Phalaena plagiata Linnaeus 1758
- Phalaena plagiata Linnaeus 1758
- Europe
Habitat: Calcareous Grassland : Moorland : Heathland : Woodland Rides : Gardens : Field Margins : Sea Cliffs
Similar Species -
- Lesser Treble-bar Aplocera efformata Guenée, 1857
Larvae often resemble twigs and are reddish brown with weak grey stripes, growing to about 25mm long,giving it the strange USA name of St John's Wort Inchworm.
Pupa: Pupates underground
Overwinters as: Early stage larva
Observations: Clearly named from the three cross bands on the forewings, this moth is very difficult to distinguish from its similar species the Lesser Treble-bar A.efformata, although there are some clearly defining features, especially when viewed from the underside.
A.plagiata have long pointed abdomen tips which are narrow at the tip whereas A.efformata have shorter abdomen tips which are wider at the tip.
The narrow basal cross band (antemedian facia) on this moth, when viewed on upperside, is slightly obtuse or at 90 to leading edge of wing whereas in A.efformata it is slightly acute and the angle is sharp.
Hindwinds are buff coloured.
Markings on the Treble-bar tend to be stronger than that on its similar species.
In A.p.scotica the forewing tends to be darker and the light brown cross bands at the leading edge of the forewing turn to darker brown.
The moth is a resident and flies at dusk. Small numbers come to light.
Subspecies
A.p.plagiata Linnaeus 1758 - Nominate subspecies - British Isles-Not Scotland
A.p.plagiata Linnaeus 1758 - Nominate subspecies - British Isles-Not Scotland
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.
- Hypericaceae - St John's Wort Family
- Hypericum hirsutum - Hairy St John's Wort
- Hypericum maculatum - Imperforate St John's-wort
- Hypericum perforatum - St John's Wort
Larval Food Plants
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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 - APLOCERA: Original Species Name: Species Names: Type Species APLOCERA: Nominotypical Subspecies: Literary Ref: Type Locality: Forms/Aberrations: Subspecies: |
Animalia
Eumetozoa Arthropoda Hexapoda Insecta Lepidoptera Geometroidea Geometridae Larentiinae Chesiadini APLOCERA Stephens, 1827 Aplocera plagiata (Linnaeus, 1758) - Phalaena plagiata (Linnaeus, 1758) - PHALAENA (Geometra) plagiata (Linnaeus 1758) = Phalaena duplicata Fabricius, 1775 = Phalaena terlineata Goeze, 1781 = Phalaena triplicata Geoffroy, 1785 = Anaitis plagiaria Boisduval, 1840 = Anaitis scotica Richardson, 1952 - PHALAENA (Geometra) plagiata Linnaeus 1758 - Phalaena plagiata plagiata Linnaeus 1758 - Syst. Nat. (Edn 10) 1 : Title page : p.526 - n.174 - Europe - A.p.f.fasciata Garbowski, 1892-Ante & Postmedial lines delimit darker fascia A.p.f.tangens Fritsch, 1911-Ante & Postmedial lines join up A.p.f.grisea Lempke, 1969-Background dark grey - A.p.fraudulentata Herrich-Schäffer, 1861-Turkey-Duller grey A.p.plagiata (Linnaeus 1758) - Nominate subspecies - British Isles-Not Scotland-Strong cross-lines on light background A.p.scotica (Richardson, 1952) - Scotland-Purplish red sheen on forewing A.p.terlineata Goetze,1783-Europe-except Spain-Weaker cross-lines with a tendency to join up A.p.hausmanni Expòsito Hermosa, 1998-Southern Spain-modified male genitalia |
