Willow Beauty

Taxobox
name = Willow Beauty

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image_width = 240px
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
subphylum = Hexapoda
classis = Insecta
ordo = Lepidoptera
unranked_familia = Macrolepidoptera
superfamilia = Geometroidea
familia = Geometridae
subfamilia = Ennominae
tribus = Boarmiini
genus = "Peribatodes"
species = "P. rhomboidaria"
binomial = "Peribatodes rhomboidaria"
binomial_authority = Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775The Willow Beauty ("Peribatodes rhomboidaria") is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is a common species of Europe, the Near East and North Africa.

The wings of this species are whitish, heavily speckled with brown or black dots, giving it a buff or grey appearance, and marked with dark fascia. Melanic forms sometimes occur. The wingspan is 40-48 mm. Either one or two broods are produced each year and the adults are on the wing from June to September ref|flight_season. It flies at night and is attracted to light.

The larva is reddish-brown and feeds on a variety of trees and shrubs (see list below), but apparently never on willowsVerify source|date=July 2007. The species overwinters as a small larva.

#Note|flight_season"The flight season refers to the British Isles. This may vary in other parts of the range."

Recorded food plants

*"Betula" - Birch
*"Camellia sinensis" - Tea
*"Clematis"
*"Crataegus" - Hawthorn
*"Hedera" - Ivy
*"Malus" - Apple
*"Prunus"
*"Taxus" - Yew
*"Vitis" - Grapevine

Subspecies

*"P. r. rhomboidaria"
*"P. r. sublutearia"

References

*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