Common Carpet (Epirrhoe alternata (Müller, 1764))
Scientific name: Epirrhoe alternata (Müller, 1764)
Common name: Common Carpet
Other names: White-banded Toothed Carpet
French name: Alternée, Phalène du pied-de-lion, Mélanippe de l'alchémille.
Order: Lepidoptera
Suborder: Heterocera
Family: Geometridae
Subfamily: Larentiinae
Wingspan: 20-25 mm.
Biotope: Woodland edges, road sides, parks and gardens.
Geographic area: Europe, temperate Asia.
Flight time: May to June, then August to September.
Number of generations : 2, 1 in the northern part of its range.
Caterpillar: Dark brown to black with pale V-shaped marks and lines. It also shows scarce white hairs and scarce white dots.
Host plant: Bedstraw (Galium sp.) and in particular Yellow Bedstraw (Galium verum).
The Common Carpet is used to flying during the day and is attracted to light during the night.
The forewings are crossed by brownish and whitish bands. The broad dark cross band bears a triangle-shaped outer extension with a slightly blunt tip.
There is a grey median line in the middle of the post-medial white band.
There is a possible confusion with the Wood Carpet (Epirrhoe rivata).
This other species is a larger wingspan. It shows a broader post-medial white band with a clearly less marked median line, sometimes hardly visible.
The white post-medial band is more sharply delimited on the hind wing on Epirrhoe alternata than on Epirrhoe rivata.
The Common Carpet over winters as a pupa.

Common Carpet (Epirrhoe alternata) - Saône-et-Loire, France - August 18th 2015
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Common Carpet (Epirrhoe alternata)
The fact this Common Carpet entered the house made it easy to shoot a picture with a uniform background.


Common Carpet (Epirrhoe alternata) - Saône-et-Loire, France - August 18th 2015
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Common Carpet (Epirrhoe alternata)
You can clearly see here the grey median line in the middle of the post-medial white band.


Common Carpet (Epirrhoe alternata) - Yvelines, France - August 31st 2013
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Common Carpet (Epirrhoe alternata)
I think that this moths belongs to the second yearly generation.


Common Carpet (Epirrhoe alternata) - Yvelines, France - May 12th 2008
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Common Carpet (Epirrhoe alternata)
The Common Carpet seems to be a very common moth. However, I have only observed it near woodland edges.


Common Carpet (Epirrhoe alternata) - Yvelines, France - May 25th 2008
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Common Carpet (Epirrhoe alternata)
With a hind wing slightly damaged.

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