Lycia zonaria

Lycia zonaria, the belted beauty, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775 and it is found in most of Europe.

Male
Female

Lycia zonaria
Illustration from John Curtis's British Entomology Volume 6
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Geometridae
Genus: Lycia
Species:
L. zonaria
Binomial name
Lycia zonaria
Synonyms
  • Geometra zonaria Denis & Schiffermuller, 1775
  • Ithysia britannica Harrison, 1912
  • Ithysia rossica Harrison, 1910
  • Nyssia zonaria

Distribution

Lycia zonaria is found from central Europe, east to the Russian Urals. The populations in England and Wales are ssp. britannica, those from the Urals are ssp. rossica . The nominate subspecies is found in the south west of Spain and France, but is missing in the Mediterranean. The northern occurrence ranges to Denmark and southern Sweden.

Description

The wingspan is 27–30 mm. Females are wingless. Males are variable, but always easy to recognize. Characteristic are the dark veins and broad dark distal area, bounded proximally and traversed by sharply white lines. The female is distinguished by its yellowish abdominal belts. The rudimentary white wings are common to the genus.

Biology

Adult males are on wing from March to April.

The larvae feed on a range of low-growing plants, including Salix repens and Rosa pimpinellifolia.

The species is a typical resident of dry grassland, occurring at forest edges, sandy slopes and heaths.

Subspecies
  • Lycia zonaria zonaria
  • Lycia zonaria rossica (Harrison, 1910)
  • Lycia zonaria britannica (Harrison, 1912)
  • Eggs
  • Larva and pupa
  • Female
  • Male and female copulation
  • Head-on view
  • Related species


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