Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Eulithis testata (Linnaeus, 1761)
Geometera testata Linnaeus, 1761
(1) Identification
Adult: FW light yellow, orangish, or brownish with sharply-bent medial and PM lines; straight white-bordered dark apical dash runs at right-angles to white-bordered dark upper section of PM line (forming a T shape whose two lines don't quite meet). HW pale grayish-white on basal two-thirds, separated from light yellowish or brownish subterminal area by an indistinct white PM line
Larva: body long, slender, pale gray or yellowish with thin dark dorsal stripe
Range
Newfoundland to New Jersey, west to Montana and British Columbia, north to Yukon and Northwest Territories
also occurs throughout Eurasia, east to Japan
Habitat
acidic bogs in northern forests
Season
adults fly from June to September
larvae in May and June
Food
larvae feed on leaves of alder, birch, blueberry, gooseberry, poplar, willow
Life Cycle
overwinters as an egg; one generation per year
Larva; adult
See Also
Dimorphic Eulithis (
E. molliculata) is similar but has a single-toothed apical dash that curves around to enclose a reddish apical patch, and its hindwing is uniformly light yellowish with 3 indistinct lines
E. propulsata lacks white borders to its apical dash and upper section of PM line
Internet References
Moth Photographers Group – images of live and pinned adults
BOLD Systems - images of pinned DNA supported specimens
live adult image plus habitat, seasonality, common name reference [The Chevron], and food plants (Ian Kimber, UK Moths)
live adult image plus description, flight season, habitat, food plants, biology, and live larva image (R.S. Thompson and B. Nelson, Butterflies and Moths of Northern Ireland)
live adult images by Chris Steeman [Belgium] and Jens Christian Schou [Denmark], plus food plants (Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa)