Bordered White
Encyclopedia
| name = Bordered White
| image = Bupalus pinaria male par Nemos.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Upperwings of adult male
of a southern population
| regnum = Animal
ia
| phylum = Arthropod
a
| classis = Insect
a
| ordo = Lepidoptera
|
| familia = Geometridae
| tribus = Bupalini
| genus = Bupalus
| species = B. piniaria
| binomial = Bupalus piniaria
| binomial_authority = (Linnaeus
, 1758)
| synonyms =
Bupalus piniarius (lapsus
)
Phalaena piniaria Linnaeus, 1758
}}
The Bordered White (Bupalus piniaria), also known as the Pine Looper, is a moth
of the geometer moth
family
(Geometridae). Among these, it belongs to tribe
Bupalini of the subfamily Ennominae
. B. piniaria is a common species throughout the western Palearctic
region, the Near East
and North Africa
. However, its presence in certain regions – e.g. the northern Balkans
– is doubtful.
It is (under its original scientific name Phalaena piniaria) the type species
of its genus
Bupalus
, as well as the junior objective synonyms Catograpta, Chleuastes and Phaophyga, and the preoccupied Bupala. Via its genus, it is also the type of the Bupalini.
Three subspecies
are generally recognized, while two additional ones are doubtfully distinct:
In addition, some forms (e.g. kolleri) have also been named.
. The adults fly in May and June, sometimes later (up to August or so) in the north of the range. Their wingspan
is 34–40 mm. This is a variable species with strong sexual dimorphism
, always conspicuous in the antenna
e which are combed in the males and plain in the females. Females, particularly when filled with ripe eggs, also have a plumper abdomen
.
The male has upperwings with broad dark brown borders and spots and a background varying from white in the north to deep yellow in southern populations. The female is plainer, varying from yellow to brown on the upperwings, which have slightly darker crosswise stripes. In both sexes, the wingtips are darkest. The underwings are less dimorphic, orange-brown with darker tips on the forewings and marbled light brown with a whitish lengthwise stripe on the hindwings in both sexes. The male's underwings have a wider whitish hindwing stripe and darker forewing tips, while the females have a more contrasting hindwing pattern. All four wings are bordered by a short fringe of alternating sections of white and dark brown hairs. Bilateral gynandromorph
s are easily recognized in this species.
The caterpillar
larva
is green with pale lines and usually feeds on various species of pine
(Pinus), especially Scots Pine
(P. sylvestris) and European Black Pine
(P. nigra). It has also been recorded feeding on Douglas-fir
(Pseudotsuga), larch
(Larix) and spruce
(Picea, e.g. Norway Spruce
P. abies). This species overwinters as a pupa
. It can be a serious pest in conifer plantation
s.
| image = Bupalus pinaria male par Nemos.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Upperwings of adult male
of a southern population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
| regnum = Animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
ia
| phylum = Arthropod
Arthropod
An arthropod is an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton , a segmented body, and jointed appendages. Arthropods are members of the phylum Arthropoda , and include the insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and others...
a
| classis = Insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
a
| ordo = Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
|
| familia = Geometridae
| tribus = Bupalini
| genus = Bupalus
Bupalus (moth)
Bupalus is a genus of moth in the family Geometridae.-Selected species:* Bupalus piniaria – Bordered White* Bupalus vestalis Staudinger, 1897-References:* *...
| species = B. piniaria
| binomial = Bupalus piniaria
| binomial_authority = (Linnaeus
Carolus Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
, 1758)
| synonyms =
Bupalus piniarius (lapsus
Lapsus
A lapsus is an involuntary mistake made while writing or speaking. According to Freud's early psychoanalytic theory, a lapsus represents a missed deed that hides an unconscious desire....
)
Phalaena piniaria Linnaeus, 1758
}}
The Bordered White (Bupalus piniaria), also known as the Pine Looper, is a moth
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
of the geometer moth
Geometer moth
The geometer moths or Geometridae are a family of the order Lepidoptera...
family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
(Geometridae). Among these, it belongs to tribe
Tribe (biology)
In biology, a tribe is a taxonomic rank between family and genus. It is sometimes subdivided into subtribes.Some examples include the tribes: Canini, Acalypheae, Hominini, Bombini, and Antidesmeae.-See also:* Biological classification* Rank...
Bupalini of the subfamily Ennominae
Ennominae
Ennominae is the largest subfamily of the geometer moth family with some 9,700 described species in 1,100 genera. They are usually fairly small moth species, though some grow considerably larger. This subfamily has a global distribution. It includes some species that are notorious defoliating...
. B. piniaria is a common species throughout the western Palearctic
Palearctic
The Palearctic or Palaearctic is one of the eight ecozones dividing the Earth's surface.Physically, the Palearctic is the largest ecozone...
region, the Near East
Near East
The Near East is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...
and North Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. However, its presence in certain regions – e.g. the northern Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
– is doubtful.
It is (under its original scientific name Phalaena piniaria) the type species
Type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
of its genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Bupalus
Bupalus
Bupalus and Athenis , were sons of Archermus, and members of the celebrated school of sculpture in marble which flourished in Chios in the 6th century BC. They were contemporaries of the poet Hipponax, whom they were said to have caricatured...
, as well as the junior objective synonyms Catograpta, Chleuastes and Phaophyga, and the preoccupied Bupala. Via its genus, it is also the type of the Bupalini.
Three subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
are generally recognized, while two additional ones are doubtfully distinct:
- Bupalus piniaria bernieri de Lajonquiere, 1958
- Bupalus piniaria espagnolus Eitschberger & Steiniger, 1975
- Bupalus piniaria flavescens White, 1876 (usually included in piniaria)
- Bupalus piniaria mughusaria Gumppenberg, 1887 (usually included in piniaria)
- Bupalus piniaria piniaria (Linnaeus, 1758)
In addition, some forms (e.g. kolleri) have also been named.
Description and ecology
This moth is an inhabitant of coniferous woodlandWoodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
. The adults fly in May and June, sometimes later (up to August or so) in the north of the range. Their wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is 34–40 mm. This is a variable species with strong sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is a phenotypic difference between males and females of the same species. Examples of such differences include differences in morphology, ornamentation, and behavior.-Examples:-Ornamentation / coloration:...
, always conspicuous in the antenna
Antenna (biology)
Antennae in biology have historically been paired appendages used for sensing in arthropods. More recently, the term has also been applied to cilium structures present in most cell types of eukaryotes....
e which are combed in the males and plain in the females. Females, particularly when filled with ripe eggs, also have a plumper abdomen
Abdomen
In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
.
The male has upperwings with broad dark brown borders and spots and a background varying from white in the north to deep yellow in southern populations. The female is plainer, varying from yellow to brown on the upperwings, which have slightly darker crosswise stripes. In both sexes, the wingtips are darkest. The underwings are less dimorphic, orange-brown with darker tips on the forewings and marbled light brown with a whitish lengthwise stripe on the hindwings in both sexes. The male's underwings have a wider whitish hindwing stripe and darker forewing tips, while the females have a more contrasting hindwing pattern. All four wings are bordered by a short fringe of alternating sections of white and dark brown hairs. Bilateral gynandromorph
Gynandromorph
A gynandromorph is an organism that contains both male and female characteristics. The term gynandromorph, from Greek "gyne" female and "andro" male, is mainly used in the field of Lepidopterology or entomology...
s are easily recognized in this species.
The caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...
larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
is green with pale lines and usually feeds on various species of pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
(Pinus), especially Scots Pine
Scots Pine
Pinus sylvestris, commonly known as the Scots Pine, is a species of pine native to Europe and Asia, ranging from Scotland, Ireland and Portugal in the west, east to eastern Siberia, south to the Caucasus Mountains, and as far north as well inside the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia...
(P. sylvestris) and European Black Pine
European Black Pine
Pinus nigra, the European Black Pine, is a moderately variable species of pine, occurring across southern Mediterranean Europe from Spain to the Crimea, in Asia Minor and on Cyprus, and in the high mountains of the Maghreb in North Africa....
(P. nigra). It has also been recorded feeding on Douglas-fir
Douglas-fir
Douglas-fir is one of the English common names for evergreen coniferous trees of the genus Pseudotsuga in the family Pinaceae. Other common names include Douglas tree, and Oregon pine. There are five species, two in western North America, one in Mexico, and two in eastern Asia...
(Pseudotsuga), larch
Larch
Larches are conifers in the genus Larix, in the family Pinaceae. Growing from 15 to 50m tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains further south...
(Larix) and spruce
Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
(Picea, e.g. Norway Spruce
Norway Spruce
Norway Spruce is a species of spruce native to Europe. It is also commonly referred to as the European Spruce.- Description :...
P. abies). This species overwinters as a pupa
Pupa
A pupa is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation. The pupal stage is found only in holometabolous insects, those that undergo a complete metamorphosis, going through four life stages; embryo, larva, pupa and imago...
. It can be a serious pest in conifer plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
s.