Essex Emerald
Encyclopedia
The Essex Emerald is a moth
of the Geometridae family . It is distributed throughout the Palearctic
region with records from many Europe
an countries. The British subspecies Thetidia smaragdaria maritima was last seen in 1991 and is now feared to be extinct. In 2004 the first record from Sweden
was made.
The wingspan
is 27-35 mm. There is one generation per year with adults on wing from mid June to mid July.
The larvae feed on Artemisia maritima
and Achillea millefolium. Larvae can be found from July to June the following year. It overwinters in the larval stage.
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 Geometridae family . It is distributed throughout the 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 with records from many Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an countries. The British subspecies Thetidia smaragdaria maritima was last seen in 1991 and is now feared to be extinct. In 2004 the first record from Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
was made.
The 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 27-35 mm. There is one generation per year with adults on wing from mid June to mid July.
The larvae feed on Artemisia maritima
Artemisia maritima
Artemisia maritima is a species of wormwood known as sea wormwood and old woman.In its many variations of form it has an extremely wide distribution in the northern hemisphere of the Old World, occurring mostly in saltish soils...
and Achillea millefolium. Larvae can be found from July to June the following year. It overwinters in the larval stage.
Subspecies
- Thetidia smaragdaria smaragdaria
- Thetidia smaragdaria gigantea Milliere, 1874
- Thetidia smaragdaria maritima Prout, 1935
- Thetidia smaragdaria volgaria Guenee, 1858