Abraxas grossulariata
| Magpie moth Abraxas grossulariata |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Hexapoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Geometridae |
| Tribe: | Abraxini |
| Genus: | Abraxas |
| Species: | A. grossulariata |
| Binomial name | |
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Abraxas grossulariata Linnaeus, 1758 |
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Abraxas grossulariata is a moth of the family Geometridae, native to the Palaearctic ecozone and North America. Its distinctive speckled colouration has given it a common name of magpie moth. The caterpillar is similarly coloured to the adult, and may be found as a pest feeding on the leaves of shrubs such as gooseberry.
The length of the forewing is 18–25 mm.The strikingly patterned forewings have a white ground cololor, with six transverse series of black stains, partly associated with a pale yellow basal cross-band and another through the central area of the forewing.The hind wings are paler, and have much less dark stains on them, and these are also small.
It is a highly variable species with many different forms. Research using Abraxas grossulariata led to the discovery of sex-linked characters.
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Wikipedia