Editing Autumnal moth

{{short description|Species of moth}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Autumnal moth
| image = Epirrita autumnata.jpg
| image2 = Epirrita autumnata, Autumnal Moth, Trawscoed, North Wales, Oct 2006 (20921883668).jpg
| taxon = Epirrita autumnata
| authority = ([[Moritz Balthasar Borkhausen|Borkhausen]], 1794)
}}

The '''autumnal moth''' (''Epirrita autumnata'') is a [[moth]] of the family [[Geometridae]]. The species was [[Species description|first described]] by [[Moritz Balthasar Borkhausen]] in 1794. It is found throughout the [[Palearctic]] region and the [[Near East]] and has a much wider distribution than its two close relatives (see below). In [[Sápmi]] (Lapland), in some years, the numerous autumnal moth [[larva]]e defoliate square miles of birch forests on mountains.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Haukioja, Erkki |author2=Hanhimäki, Sinikka |year=1985 |title=Rapid wound-induced resistance in white birch (''Betula pubescens'') foliage to the geometrid ''Epirrita autumnata'': a comparison of trees and moths within and outside the outbreak range of the moth |journal=Oecologia |volume=65 |issue=2 |pages=223–232 |doi=10.1007/BF00379221 }}</ref>

==Description==
This species is very similar to the [[November moth]], the [[Epirrita filigrammaria|small Autumnal moth]], and the [[pale November moth]], and identification is usually only possible by examining the [[Lepidoptera genitalia|genitalia]].<ref>Martin C. Townsend, Jon Clifton and Brian Goodey (2010). [https://butterfly-conservation.org/uploads/Difficult_species_guide_page_30.pdf ''British and Irish Moths: An Illustrated Guide to Selected Difficult Species'']. Butterfly Conservation.</ref> In general, this is the least variable of the four, with [[melanism|melanic]] forms occurring less often. It is also usually on the wing earlier in the year, flying in September and October,{{ref|flight_season}} although the flight seasons of all three species overlap.

The [[caterpillar]] feeds on a wide variety of trees and shrubs.<ref>Sadik Tuzun and Elizabeth Bent, 2006</ref><ref>Hogan, C. Michael (2008). [http://globaltwitcher.auderis.se/artspec_information.asp?thingid=44736 "Douglas-fir: ''Pseudotsuga menziesii''". globalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Strõmberg] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090604021155/http://globaltwitcher.auderis.se/artspec_information.asp?thingid=44736 |date=2009-06-04 }}</ref> The species overwinters as an [[egg (biology)|egg]].

==Subspecies==
*''E. a. altivagata''
*''E. a. autumnata''

==Notes==
* {{Note|flight_season}} ''The flight season refers to the British Isles. This may vary in other parts of the range.''

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*[[Michael Chinery|Chinery, Michael]] ''Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe'' 1986 (Reprinted 1991)
*[[Bernard Skinner (entomologist)|Skinner, Bernard]] ''[[Colour Identification Guide to the Moths of the British Isles]]'' 1984
*Tuzun, Sadik & Bent, Elizabeth (2006). ''Multigenic and Induced Systemic Resistance in Plants'', published by Birkhäuser, 521 pages  {{ISBN|0-387-23265-6}}

==External links==
{{Commonscat|Epirrita autumnata}}
{{Wikispecies|Epirrita autumnata}}
*[https://www.ukmoths.org.uk/species/epirrita-autumnata/ Autumnal moth at ''UKMoths'']
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160304045519/http://www.faunaeur.org/full_results.php?id=445096 ''Fauna Europaea'']
*[http://www.lepiforum.de/lepiwiki.pl?Epirrita_Autumnata ''Lepiforum e.V.'']

{{Taxonbar|from=Q2370188}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Epirrita]]
[[Category:Moths described in 1794]]
[[Category:Moths of Japan]]
[[Category:Moths of Europe]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Moritz Balthasar Borkhausen]]