Pheosia gnoma

Pheosia gnoma, the lesser swallow prominent, is a moth from the family Notodontidae. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1777.

Lesser swallow prominent
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Notodontidae
Genus:
Pheosia
Species:
P. gnoma
Binomial name
Pheosia gnoma
(Fabricius, 1777)

The moth can be found across the Palearctic realm (northern and central Europe, Russia, eastern Siberia, Russian Far East, Amur). It has a forewing length of 20–26 mm.

Description

The imago can be easily confused with Pheosia tremula but P. gnoma is usually smaller, and the ground colour has usually less brown in it. The chief character by which it may be distinguished is the broader and clearer white wedge-shaped mark between veins 1 and 2 on the forewings of P. gnoma.

  • Plate showing the differences between P. gnoma and P. tremula
    Plate showing the differences between P. gnoma and P. tremula
  • Habitat in Finland
    Habitat in Finland
2, 2a, 2b larvae after last moult

The host plant of the lesser swallow prominent is the birch (Betula) (British Isles), Betula pendula (Finland) Betula pubescens (Finland).[1]

The moth survives winter as a pupa underground.

References
  1. Robinson, Gaden S.; Ackery, Phillip R.; Kitching, Ian J.; Beccaloni, George W.; Hernández, Luis M. (2010). "Search the database - introduction and help". HOSTS - A Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants. Natural History Museum, London.

Further reading
  • South R. (1907) The Moths of the British Isles, (First Series), Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd., London & NY: 359 pp. online
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