Lampropteryx suffumata
| Water carpet | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Geometridae |
| Genus: | Lampropteryx |
| Species: | L. suffumata |
| Binomial name | |
| Lampropteryx suffumata | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Lampropteryx suffumata, the water carpet, is a moth of the family Geometridae.[2] It is found from Europe to the Altai Mountains, Khabarovsk Krai and the Kamchatka Peninsula in the far east of Russia, and Hokkaido, Japan.[3][4] In 2000, the species was discovered in Alaska, United States, and then in 2008 DNA-barcoding analysis of museum specimens identified several Canadian specimens,[5] thereby extending the geographical range from Ireland in the west, across Eurasia, to the west of North America. The habitat consists of damp woodland, grassy areas, chalk downland and scrubland.
Description
[edit]The wingspan is 25–32 mm.[2] The ground colour is brownish. Between the wingbase and the midfield, as well as between the central and margin field is a whitish lateral band. The dark midfield is serrated on both sides. The outer cross-line limiting the midfield and shows a clearly protruding double wave. The margin field is heavily obscured below the apex. The hind wings are pale grey and have a strongly curved dark cross line. [6][7][8]
In northern Europe, adults are in the wing from March to June in one generation.
- Larvae
Adult caterpillars have a brown basic coloration. On the dorsum, there is reddish-brown to black-brown angled spots. The rear segments are lighter brown. The larvae feed on Galium species (often known as bedstraws) and can be found in May and June.[6][9]
- Pupa
It overwinters in the pupal stage, in a substantial, silken cocoon spun among the foodplant.[9]
Subspecies and aberrations
[edit]- Lampropteryx suffumata suffumata
- Lampropteryx suffumata arctica Sparre-Schneider, 189
- Lampropteryx suffumata ab. piceata Stephens
- Lampropteryx suffumata ab. porrittii [2]
Similar species
[edit]- Devon carpet (Lampropteryx otregiata) flies, in two generations, in May and June and again in August and September.[10] The larvae are similar and also feed on bedstraws, but pupate in leaf litter on the ground.[9]
Etymology
[edit]The genus Lampropteryx was raised by the English entomologist, James Francis Stephens in 1831. The name is from the Greek (lampros, a wing) and (pteryx, bright); referring to the ″strong gloss on the forewings …″. The specific name suffumata is from the Latin (sub, somewhat) and (fumatus, smoky or smoked) and the authors Denis and Schiffermüller may have had ab. piceata Stephens before them. Ab. piceata (piceus, pitch-black) also has very glossy forewings.[11]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Lampropteryx suffumata (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775)". Fauna Europaea. 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
- 1 2 3 Kimber, Ian. "Water Carpet Lampropteryx suffumata ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775)". UKmoths. Retrieved 5 April 2026.
- ↑ Beljaev, Evgeny; Vasilenko, Sergei (2002-12-01). "An annotated checklist of geometrid moths (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) from the Kamchatka Peninsula and adjacent islands". Entomologica Fennica. 13 (4): 195–235. doi:10.33338/ef.84161. ISSN 2489-4966.
- ↑ Beljaev, E.A. (2022). "Fauna of the geometrid moths (Lepidoptera, Geometridae) of the eastern Sikhote-Alin in the Botchinsky Reserve II. Subfamilies Larentiinae and Sterrhinae, and zoogeographical analysis". Amurian Zoological Journal. 14: 676–707.
- ↑ deWaard, Jeremy R.; Schmidt, B. Christian; Anweiler, Gary G.; Humble, Leland M. (2008-12-31). "First Canadian records of Lampropteryx suffumata ([Denis & Schiffermiiller], 1775) (Geometridae: Larentiinae)". Journal of the Entomological Society of British Columbia. 105: 19–25. ISSN 1929-7890.
- 1 2 Leraut, Patrice (2009). Geometrid moths. In: Moths of Europe. 1. Auflage. Band 2 (NAP ed.). ISBN 978-2-913688-09-4.
- ↑ Jaan Viidalepp and Axel Hausmann, 2013 In: Axel Hausmann (Hrsg.): The Geometrid Moths of Europe. 1. Auflage. Volume 3: Larentiinae I. Apollo Books, Stenstrup 2013, ISBN 978-90-04-26097-9
- ↑ Wikisource:The Moths of the British Isles Second Series/Chapter 9#178
- 1 2 3 Henwood, Barry; Sterling, Phil; Lewington, Richard (2020). Field Guide to the Caterpillars of Great Britain and Ireland. London: Bloomsbury Wildlife Guides. pp. 155–6. ISBN 978-1-4729-3358-4.
- ↑ Kimber, Ian. "Devon Carpet Lampropteryx otregiata". UKmoths. Retrieved 5 April 2026.
- ↑ Maitland Emmet, A (1991). The Scientific Names of the British Lepidoptera. Their History and Meaning. Colchester: Harley Books. p. 168. ISBN 0-946589-35-6.