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March 16, 2009
The Half-wing in My Backyard
There are a number of species of moths that are active early in the spring, and I previously discussed one such moth, the spring cankerworm. I was cutting up branches in my backyard yesterday and happened upon another vernal species, Phigalia titea, commonly known as a "half-wing." These geometrids also have females with greatly reduced wings and only the males are capable of flight.
Phigalia titia (Cramer) is a member of the Geometridae, or spanworm moths. This species feeds upon oaks, hickories and red maple. Eggs are laid soon after adults emerge in March-April, and the larvae emerge in late April. By late June, they have completed larval development, and crawl or silk down into duff and pupate. There is one generation per year.
An interesting bit of mythology -- the genus is named after a Greek Dryad (a beautiful nymph of the woods), Phigalia, which is a town in southern Greece.
Links
http://www.forestpests.org/hardwood/halfwinggeometer.html
Posted by mfobrien at March 16, 2009 08:57 AM