Autumnal moth

Autumnal moth
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Geometridae
Genus:	Epirrita
Species:	E. autumnata
Binomial name
Epirrita autumnata (Borkhausen, 1794)

The autumnal moth (Epirrita autumnata) is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Moritz Balthasar Borkhausen in 1794. It is found throughout the Palearctic region and the Near East and has a much wider distribution than its two close relatives (see below). In Sápmi (Lapland), in some years, the numerous autumnal moth larvae defoliate square miles of birch forests on mountains.^[1]

This species is very similar to the November moth, the small Autumnal moth, and the pale November moth, and identification is usually only possible by examining the genitalia.^[2] In general, this is the least variable of the four, with melanic forms occurring less often. It is also usually on the wing earlier in the year, flying in September and October,^[1] although the flight seasons of all three species overlap.

The caterpillar feeds on a wide variety of trees and shrubs.^[3][4] The species overwinters as an egg.

• E. a. altivagata
• E. a. autumnata

• ^ The flight season refers to the British Isles. This may vary in other parts of the range.

• Chinery, Michael Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe 1986 (Reprinted 1991)
• Skinner, Bernard Colour Identification Guide to the Moths of the British Isles 1984
• Tuzun, Sadik & Bent, Elizabeth (2006). Multigenic and Induced Systemic Resistance in Plants, published by Birkhäuser, 521 pages ISBN 0-387-23265-6

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Epirrita autumnata.

Wikispecies has information related to Epirrita autumnata.

• Autumnal moth at UKMoths
• Fauna Europaea
• Lepiforum e.V.