| Spring Usher (Agriopis leucophaearia (Denis & Schiffermüller 1775)) |
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Scientific name: Agriopis leucophaearia (Denis & Schiffermüller 1775) Common name: Spring Usher French name: Hibernie grisâtre Order: Lepidoptera Suborder: Heterocera Family: Geometridae Subfamily: Ennominae Wingspan: 23-32 mm. Biotope: Forests with mature oak trees, woodland edges, parks. Geographic area: Europe, Asia to eastern Siberia and Japan. Flight time: February-March (since mid-January during warm winters). Number of generations : 1 Caterpillar: Yellowish green ringed with black. The head is dark. Host plant: Pedunculate oak (Quercus robur), Sessile Oak (Quercus petraea). |
The female Spring Usher is wingless. The male's forewings are triangle-shaped with a rounded tip. The forewing's colour is very variable, from black and white to greyish-brown with large dark areas. There are often two dark cross lines with a paler area in between. The hindwings are greyish. The chrysalis over winters in the soil. Adults emerge early in the year. Females climb up oak tree trunks. Males fly to females. They can also be attracted to light. You can observe the caterpillar between April and June. |
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It is not so often that we can observe moths in January. This eases the identification. This Spring Usher, observed near a woodland edge, was no more very vivacious. |
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This caterpillar is rather dark coloured but you can guess the black rings. |
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Here is another view of the same caterpillar. Can this pale ventral stripe be used to confirm the species identification? |
André Bon December 2016