Abraxas grossulariata

Magpie moth
	In Oxford, England
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Geometridae
Genus:	Abraxas
Species:	A. grossulariata
Binomial name
	Abraxas grossulariata; (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
	Abraxas karafutonis Matsumura, 1925; Abraxas grossulariatus (Linnaeus, 1758);

Abraxas grossulariata is a moth of the family Geometridae, native to the Palearctic realm and North America. Its distinctive speckled coloration has given it a common name of magpie moth. The caterpillar is similarly coloured to the adult, and may be found feeding on the leaves of shrubs such as gooseberry and blackcurrant. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.

Description

The length of the forewing is 18–25 mm. The strikingly patterned forewings have a white ground colour, with six transverse series of black stains, partly associated with a pale yellow basal cross band and another through the central area of the forewing. The hindwings are paler, and have a few, small dark stains.

It is a highly variable species with many different forms. Research using Abraxas grossulariata led to the discovery of sex-linked characteristics.

Larva
Mounted specimen

Subspecies

Abraxas grossulariata grossulariata
Abraxas grossulariata karafutonis Matsumura, 1925 (Sakhalin)
Abraxas grossulariata conspurcata Butler, 1878 (Japan)
Abraxas grossulariata dsungarica Wehrli, 1939 (Dzungaria)

Recorded foodplants

References

G. Evelyn Hutchinson, 1969 Some continental European aberrations of Abraxas grossulariata Linn. (Lepidoptera) with a note on the theoretical significance of the variation in the species Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences v. 43, p. 1-24.
G. Evelyn Hutchinson, 1974 New and inadequately described aberrations of Abraxas grossulariata (Linn.) (Lep. Geometridae). Entomological Record 86:199–206.