| Maiden's Blush (Cyclophora punctaria (Linnaeus, 1758)) |
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Scientific name: Cyclophora punctaria (Linnaeus, 1758) Common name: Maiden's Blush French name: Phalène ponctuée, Soutenue, Ephyre ponctuée. Order: Lepidoptera Suborder: Heterocera Family: Geometridae Subfamily: Sterrhinae Wingspan: 28-32 mm. Biotope: Oak forests. Geographic area: All Europe north to Scandinavia and east to Lebanon. Flight time: May-June then August. Number of generations : 2 Caterpillar: Green with a brown head and pale yellow lateral marks at the front of each segment and reddish marks at the rear of each segment. Host plant: Pedunculate Oak (Quercus robur) and Sessile Oak (Quercus petraea). |
The Maiden's Blush has a beige brown ground colour. There are reddish brown marks on the marginal area of the fore wings. These marks may be reduced, or even missing, on moths of the second brood also called summer brood. The wings are crossed by a dark brown median line located between two lines of regularly spaced dark dots. The Maiden's Blush is attracted to light. It over winters as a chrysalis, attached to a leaf. |
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This Maiden's Blush, observed on a woodland edge, shows reddish marks in the marginal area of the fore wings reduced to a small single patch on the inner corner. |
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It is not easy to find good conditions to shoot a picture under the shadow of tall oaks and among the dense vegetation of the woodland edge. |
André Bon October 2011