Cyclophora linearia, the clay triple-lines, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1799 and it can be found in Europe and (primarily in the southern half) Britain.
Description The wingspan is 26–33 mm. The basic colour of the wings is pale brown to orange in the first generation and rose red in the second generation. On the forewing are three crosslines, black to reddish in colour, the middle is wider. The crosslines are often vague in the second generation.Hausmann, A, 2021 In: Axel Hausmann (Hrsg.): The Geometrid Moths of Europe. 1. Auflage. Volume 2: Sterrhinae Brill Prout, L. B. (1912–16). Geometridae. In A. Seitz (ed.) The Macrolepidoptera of the World. The Palaearctic Geometridae, 4. 479 pp. Alfred Kernen, Stuttgart.pdf describes some aberrations. The egg is elongate-oval, with fine hexagonal or rather irregularly polygonal ribbing; pale yellow, becoming marked with red. The larva is slender and naked, pale green, with small, yellow spots on the dorsum.
Biology The moths fly from May to July depending on the location.
The larvae feed on beech.
Similar species Cyclophora linearia is difficult to certainly distinguish from these congeners. See Townsend et al.Martin C. Townsend, Jon Clifton and Brian Goodey (2010). British and Irish Moths: An Illustrated Guide to Selected Difficult Species. (covering the use of genitalia characters and other features) Butterfly Conservation. Blair's mocha Cyclophora puppillaria (Herrich-Schäffer, 1855) Jersey Mocha Cyclophora ruficiliaria (Herrich-Schäffer, 1855) Maiden’s Blush Cyclophora punctaria (Linnaeus, 1758) False mocha Cyclophora porata (Hübner, 1799)
References
External links
Lepidoptera of Belgium Lepiforum e.V.