Pale November moth

Pale November moth
Mounted
Live adult
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Geometridae
Genus:	Epirrita
Species:	E. christyi
Binomial name
Epirrita christyi (Allen, 1906)

The pale November moth (Epirrita christyi) is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Allen in 1906. It is a fairly common species in Western Europe including the British Isles.

This species is almost identical to its relatives the November moth , the small autumnal moth and the autumnal moth and it is almost impossible to identify them without examination of the genitalia. See Townsend et al.^[1] In general, although melanism occurs regularly in this species it is less prevalent than in the November moth.

The pale November moth flies at night from September to November^[1] and is attracted to light.

The larva feeds on a variety of trees and shrubs (see list below). The species overwinters as an egg.

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

Recorded food plants

• Acer - maple
• Betula - birch
• Corylus - hazel
• Crataegus - hawthorn
• Fagus - beech
• Prunus
• Quercus - oak
• Sorbus
• Ulmus - elm

References

• 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

External links

• Pale November at UKMoths
• Fauna Europaea
• Lepidoptera of Belgium
• Lepiforum e.V.
• De Vlinderstichting (in Dutch)

This page was last edited on 12 January 2023, at 12:45