Engrailed

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The Engrailed (Ectropis crepuscularia) is a moth of the family Geometridae. Some authors split this moth into two species: E. bistortata The Engrailed and E. crepuscularia Small Engrailed. It is distributed across most of Europe.

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The ground colour of the wings is buff or grey variably marked with darker fascia. The darker markings are not usually as strong as in the rather similar Willow Beauty. Melanic forms occur fairly frequently. The wingspan is 38-45 mm. One or two broods are produced each year and the adults can be seen at any time between March and August*. The species flies at night and is attracted to light.

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The greyish larva is truly polyphagous, feeding on a huge range of plants (see list below). The species overwinters as a pupa.

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• The flight season refers to the British Isles. This may vary in other parts of the range.
Engrailed: Recorded food plants ►



 

Moth: A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly. Both are of the order Lepidoptera....

Geometridae: REDIRECT Geometer_moth...

Europe: :This article is about the continent. For other meanings, see Europe (disambiguation)....