Lomaspilis marginata

• Subfamily: Ennominae, Cassymini
• Wingspan: 20-30 mm
• Flight period: Apr - Sep
• Spread: Common
• Host plants: Salicaceae, Betulaceae

Information

The Lomaspilis marginata is a moth of the Geometridae family, subfamily Ennominae, with a wingspan of 25-30 mm.
It is distributed in most of Europe, it is absent from Croatia and Greece. * In Italy it is absent from Sardinia and its presence in Sicily is in doubt. *
Its range extends as far as the Urals, from western Siberia to central Siberia, Kazakhstan, Northern Mongolia and some parts of the Middle East.

Easily identifiable, this moth has white wings marked with black spots around the edges. The amount of black is variable, with males usually (though not always) having larger black patches than females. Almost completely white or black specimens can rarely be seen. In any case, the marginality of the black spots of Lomaspilis marginata it remains "extremely variable" and there is a large number of documented aberrations. The head, thorax and abdomen are black in color. **

The Lomaspilis marginata has two generations per year (bivoltine species) partially overlapping from May to August; flying mainly at night, they are attracted to artificial light. The egg is yellow-green, with hexagonal reticulation. The larva is pale green in color with darker dorsal lines and a purple anal point. The species hibernates as a pupa ***, sometimes remaining in this form for up to four years.

The pupation takes place inside a folded leaf inside a silky lattice covered with plant residues. The pupa is reddish brown, the Cremaster has the terminal part divided in two. **

The larvae feed mainly on Salix caprea (willow) but also on other Salicaceae such as Populs tremula or Betulaceae such as Betula sp. (birch) and Corylus.


* Lepidoptera mundi https://lepidoptera.eu/ - Fauna Europea https://fauna-eu.org/
** Bestimmungshilfe für die in Europa nachgewiesenen Schmetterlingsarten - http://lepiforum.de/
*** Roland Robineau, Guide de papillons nocturne de France, Delachaux et Niestlé, 2011 p.71