Blood-vein

Blood-vein
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Geometridae
Genus:	Timandra
Species:	T. comae
Binomial name
	Timandra comae; , 1931

The blood-vein (Timandra comae) is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Anton Schmidt in 1931.

Distribution[]

It has a scattered distribution in western and central Europe north of the Alps. In the British Isles the distribution is patchy outside southern England and Wales. In far eastern Europe – east of a line running roughly from Finland through Estonia – it is replaced by its sister species Timandra griseata. The species were split in 1931, only to be subsequently re-merged by most authors. But since 1994, new research has come out in favour of treating them as distinct species.^[1]

Description[]

Caterpillar

The wings are cream coloured with bold red or purple fascia forming a diagonal stripe across forewings and hindwings. All wings are fringed with the same colour. The tornus of the hindwing is sharply angled giving a distinctive shape. The wingspan is 30–35 mm.

Biology[]

Two broods are produced each year with the adults flying in May and June and again in August and September^[a]. It flies at night and is attracted to light.

The larva is grey brown with darker spots on the back. In the UK, it feeds on the leaves of a variety of plants including dock, knotgrass, sorrel and various species of Atriplex. It overwinters as a larva.

Notes[]

^ The flight season refers to the British Isles. This varies in other parts of the range.

References[]

^ Õunap et al. (2005)

Bibliography[]

Chinery, Michael (1986). Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe 1986 (Reprinted 1991)
Õunap, Erki; Viidalepp, Jaan & Saarma, Urmas (2005). "Phylogenetic evaluation of the taxonomic status of Timandra griseata and T. comae (Lepidoptera: Geometridae: Sterrhinae)". European Journal of Entomology, 102: 607-615.
Skinner, Bernard (1984). Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles 1984

External links[]

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[2] The flight season refers to the British Isles. This varies in other parts of the range.

[1] Õunap et al. (2005)

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[a]