Species Archiearis infans - The Infant - Hodges#6256

6256

First-born Geometer

INFANS: a Latin word meaning "an infant"; refers to the adult's early emergence from a pupa in the spring, and is the basis for the common names The Infant and First-born Geometer

the only species in this genus in North America listed at All-Leps

wingspan 30-33 mm

Adult: forewing mottled brown with prominent white AM and PM patch at costa; AM patch sometimes extends as a band to anal margin; hindwing bright orange with variably developed black median and marginal bands; black patch extends from wing base to median area below discal cell; sexes similar

subspecies A. i. oregonensis, described from Port Orford, Oregon, is larger, paler, and occurs from southern BC to California

Alaska to Newfoundland, plus northern United States, south in the east to New Jersey, south in the west to California

open wooded areas containing birch and alder

adults fly from late March to early May

larvae feed on leaves of birch, alder, poplar, willow; larvae that hatch before leaves are available in early spring may feed on flower catkins of the host tree

one generation per year; overwinters as a pupa

Adults may be seen flying in open woodlands on warm sunny days in early spring. They are fast fliers and normally difficult to capture, but occasionally sip moisture from damp sand or mud puddles; Song Sparrows have been observed to take advantage of this behavior to prey on the moths (Newman & Donahue 1967).

in the far west, superficially similar to Dasyfidonia avuncularia, which has two well-defined continous black bands across hindwing, not patchy and broken as in A. infans

live adult images including the underside, plus other info (Vermont Institute of Natural Science)

live adult image (Cindy Mead, Michigan)

pinned adult image plus description, habitat, distribution, foodplants, biology, flight season, and common name references (G.G. Anweiler, U. of Alberta)

pinned adult image (CBIF)

food plants; PDF doc plus flight season and number of generations (Macrolepidoptera of Mont Saint-Hilaire Region, McGill U., Quebec)

presence in California; list (U. of California at Berkeley)