Common emerald

Common emerald
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Geometridae
Genus:	Hemithea
Species:	H. aestivaria
Binomial name
Hemithea aestivaria Hübner, 1799

The common emerald (Hemithea aestivaria) is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species is found throughout the Nearctic and Palearctic regions and the Near East. It is mostly commonly found in the southern half of the British Isles. It was accidentally introduced into southern British Columbia in 1979.

All wings are generally dark green with grey and white chequered fringes and narrow white fascia, two on the forewing, one on the hindwing. The green colouration tends not to fade over time as much as in other emeralds. The hindwings have a sharply angled termen giving the moth a very distinctive shape. The wingspan is 30–35 mm. It flies at dusk and night in June and July ^[1] and will come to light.

The larva is green with reddish-brown markings and black v-shaped marks along the back. The young larva will feed on most plants but later it feeds on trees and shrubs. The species overwinters as a larva.

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

Recorded food plants

• Aralia
• Artemisia
• Betula – Birch
• Camellia
• Carpinus – Hornbeam
• Castanea – Chestnut
• Citrus
• Corylus – Hazel
• Crataegus - Hawthorn
• Diervilla – Bush honeysuckle
• Hypericum – St John's wort
• Juglans – Walnut
• Larix – Larch
• Ligustrum – Privet
• Malus – Apple
• Morus – Mulberry
• Photinia
• Prunus
• Quercus – Oak
• Rhamnus – Buckthorn
• Ribes – Currant
• Rosa – Rose
• Rubus
• Salix – Willow
• Sorbus – Rowan
• Tilia – Lime
• Vaccinium
• Viburnum

Gallery

• 
  Common emerald
• 
  Larva

References

• Chinery, Michael Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe 1986 (Reprinted 1991)
• Skinner, Bernard Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles 1984

External links

• Common emerald at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera pages