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Besma quercivoraria

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Oak besma
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Geometridae
Genus: Besma
Species:
B. quercivoraria
Binomial name
Besma quercivoraria
(Guenée, 1857)
Synonyms
  • Metanema quercivoraria Guenée, 1857
  • Besma aeliaria (Walker, 1860)
  • Besma textrinaria (Grote & Robinson, 1867)
  • Besma trilinearia (Packard, 1876)
  • Besma incongruaria (Hulst, 1887)

Besma quercivoraria, the oak besma, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Achille Guenée in 1857. It is found across southern Canada (from Newfoundland to British Columbia) and all of the United States except California.

Adults are sexually dimorphic.

The wingspan is 27–41 mm. Adults are on wing from April to September in the south, from May to August in Ontario and from late May to July in Alberta. There are two generations per year.

The larvae feed on the leaves of oak, elm, poplar, willow, Picea glauca, and mostly Betula papyrifera in southern Canada.

[edit]
  • Boone, Mike (July 26, 2019). "Species Besma quercivoraria - Oak Besma - Hodges#6885". BugGuide. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  • "911324.00 – 6885 – Besma quercivoraria – Oak Besma Moth – (Guenée, [1858])". North American Moth Photographers Group. Mississippi State University. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  • Anweiler, G. G. (November 26, 2003). "Species Details Besma quercivoraria". University of Alberta Museums. E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  • Moths of North Dakota