Explanation of Names
CINGILIA: from the Latin "cingula" (a girdle); perhaps a reference to the dark dots that girdle the perimeter of the wings
Numbers
1 species in North America (
nearctica.com)
Identification
Adult: wings white to pale brown or grayish; AM, PM, and terminal lines composed of black dots (AM and PM lines may be continuous in some individuals); top of head and "shoulders" yellow, with remainder of thorax and abdomen whitish to grayish
Larva: pale yellow to greenish-yellow; several white spots along side, each white spot bordered by a black spot before and after; lateral spots may be superimposed on three black-edged white stripes running length of body; head yellow with several black spots
Range
Alberta to Nova Scotia, south to Maryland, west to Kansas
Habitat
woodlands, barrens, bogs, heathlands
Season
adults fly in September and early October
larvae from June to August
Food
larvae feed on a variety of shrubs and trees: alder, bayberry, birch, blueberry, bog laurel, cranberry, fir, huckleberry, leatherleaf, maple, oak, pine, poplar, sweetfern, sweet gale, tamarack, white cedar, willow.
Life Cycle
overwinters as an egg, which is laid in the fall; larvae emerge in June and pupate in August; pupa stage lasts about a month; one generation per year
Remarks
Larvae hang motionless straight down from a twig during the day, then feed in the evening and at night.
"Locally abundant to the point of being a pest in some years, yet becoming increasingly rare over much of its former range in the Northeast." (Wagner et al; 2001)
Print References
Wagner, Ferguson, McCabe, and Reardon. Geometroid Caterpillars of Northeastern and Appalachian Forests. 2001.
Internet References
live adult and larva images plus description, biology, food plants, seasonality, etc. (U. of Maine)
live adult images (Lynn Scott, Ontario)
pinned adult image of specimen collected by T.R. Peale in Vermont in 1873 (Titian Peale Butterfly and Moth Collection, Academy of Natural Sciences)
live larva image [by Eileen Pike, New Brunswick] (Furman U., South Carolina)
text account of "mystery caterpillar" (Eileen Pike, Nature NB Listserve, U. of New Brunswick)
live larva image shown hanging from a twig (Steven Katovich, USDA Forest Service, insectimages.org)
biology and larval food plants & season (U. of Vermont)
distribution in Canada - list of provinces (CBIF)
status in Massachusetts - listed as species of Special Concern, plus common name reference [Chain-dotted Geometer] (Environmental & Readiness Center, Massachusetts National Guard)
common name reference [Chainspotted Geometer] (ITIS)
Contributed by
Matthew Roth on 21 September, 2005 - 1:29pm
Additional contributions by
Robin McLeodLast updated 21 September, 2005 - 6:45pm
