The Geometrician

Grammodes stolida · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Erebidae

Also called: Geometrician, Stolid Lines

Damages trees, gardens or crops. The larvae feed on a range of plants including oak, raspberry and other shrubs, so they can damage trees and garden plants.

Source: Wikipedia

The Geometrician moth has a complex wing pattern with black-brown forewings crossed by pale ochreous bands and a white fringe, and olive-fuscous hindwings with a distinctive white band and spot. It lives across Africa, southern Europe, much of Asia and Australia and migrates north into central and northern Europe as far as England, Denmark and Finland. Adults are on the wing from February through October and produce several generations each year.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Forewings are mostly black-brown with a pale ochreous band across the middle and a white fringe, while hindwings are olive-fuscous with a white band from the costa to the anal angle and a white submarginal spot.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

The caterpillars feed on species of Paliurus, Rubus, Tribulus, Coriaria and Quercus.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

There are multiple generations per year.

Source: Wikipedia

When you see it

Adults are active from February to October.

Source: Wikipedia

Lookalikes

A form called stupida from Macedonia shows the bands marked only with yellow at the inner margin and has two straight dark streaks, while the ab. attenuata form has a narrow white line on the hindwing.

Source: Wikipedia