The engrailed and small engrailed (Ectropis crepuscularia) are moths of the family Geometridae found from the British Isles through central and eastern Europe to the Russian Far East and Kazakhstan. The western Mediterranean and Asia Minor and the Caucasus represent the southern limit of the distribution (with the Balkan countries). In the north, the distribution area ends at the Arctic Circle. It also occurs in North America. Debate exists as to whether they make up one species, or whether E. crepuscularia actually refers only to the small engrailed, with the engrailed proper being separable as E. bistortata.Martin C. Townsend, Jon Clifton and Brian Goodey (2010). British and Irish Moths: An Illustrated Guide to Selected Difficult Species. (covering the use of genitalia characters and other features) Butterfly Conservation.
The ground colour of the wings is buff or grey, variably marked with darker fascia and a pale postdiscal crossline. The darker markings are not usually as strong as in the rather similar willow beauty. Melanic forms occur fairly frequently. The wingspan is Bernd Müller, Sven Erlacher, Axel Hausmann, Hossein Rajaei, Pasi Sihvonen and Peder Skou, 2019 In: Axel Hausmann (Hrsg.):, 2019 The Geometrid Moths of Europe. 1. Auflage. Volume 6 Ennominae II(Boarmiini, Gnophini, additions to previous volumes), Stenstrup 2015, 978-90-04-38748-5 .Prout, L. B. (1912–16). Geometridae. In A. Seitz (ed.) The Macrolepidoptera of the World. The Palaearctic Geometridae, 4. 479 pp. Alfred Kernen, Stuttgart.pdf One or two broods are produced each year. In the British Isles, the adults can be seen at any time between March and August; this time range may vary in other parts of this moth's range. The species flies at night and is attracted to light.
The greyish caterpillar is truly polyphagous, feeding on a huge range of plants. As a caterpillar, the species is known as the saddleback looper."Saddleback looper". Trees, Insects and Diseases of Canada's Forests. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved February 5, 2019. The species overwinters as a pupa.
Recorded food plants
Acer, maple Aconitum, monkshood Alnus, alder Aquilegia, columbine Betula, birch Calluna vulgaris, heather Camellia japonica, Japanese camellia Castanea, chestnut Centaurea, star thistle Cirsium arvense, creeping thistle Cornus, dogwood Daphniphyllum Diervilla, bush honeysuckle Frangula, alder buckthorn Fraxinus, ash Genista, broom Glycine, soybean Hypericum maculatum, imperforate St. John's wort Ilex, holly Juglans, walnut Larix, Larch Lindera, spice bush Lonicera, honeysuckle Lythrum salicaria, purple loosestrife Malus, apple Philadelphus, mock-orange Picea, spruce Pieris Pinus, pine Plectranthus Populus, poplar Pseudotsuga, Douglas firC. Michael Hogan (2008) Douglas-fir: Pseudotsuga menziesii, globalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Strõmberg Quercus, oak Ribes rubrum, redcurrant Rosa, rose Rubus idaeus, raspberryHübner (1825) Ectropis Rumex, dock Salix, willow Sambucus, elder Shepherdia canadensis, Canada buffaloberry Sorbus spp., rowans Spartina, cordgrass Thuja Trifolium, clover Tsuga, hemlock Ulmus, elm Vaccinium Zanthoxylum
References
Further reading Chinery, Michael Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe 1986 (Reprinted 1991) Skinner, Bernard Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles 1984
External links
Engrailed on UKMoths
Lepiforum e.V.