Subspecies
(1) Archiearis puella puella (Esper, 1787)
(2) Archiearis puella mediterranea Ganev, 1984
Only the nominate subspecies occurs in Germany.
Synonyms
Synonymy of Archiearis puella puella:
Phalaena puella Esper, 1787
Noctua puella Esper, 1787
Archiearis puella (Esper, 1787)
Archiearis puella puella (Esper, 1787)
Brephos puella (Esper, 1787)
Boudinotiana puella (Esper, 1787)
Boudinotiana puella puella (Esper, 1787)
Phalaena caelebs Huebner, 1789
Noctua spuria Huebner, 1803
ab. treitschkei Prout, 1912
ab. latevirgata Kitt, 1920
ab. inversa Nitsche, 1932
Identification
Special characters in the larva: in contrast to the larvae of higher geometrid moths, the larvae of the present species retain
all four proleg pairs. However, the prolegs on abdominal segments 3-5
are shorter than the proleg pair on abdominal segment 6, thus
illustrating an evolutionary intermediate between the fully developed
prolegs in the lepidopteran ground plan and the fully reduced prolegs on
abdominal segments 3-5 in the higher Geometridae.
Distribution
Occurs in southern and south-eastern Europe and south-western Asia. In
Germany only historical reports from Hessen, Thüringen and
Baden-Württemberg, without documentation or collected specimens, and
therefore these records are
usually dismissed as doubtful or misidentifications. However, there are
two specimens collected in Bad Vilbel (Hessen) in 1943 (see
Gelbrecht 1999),
and the type specimens of the species have also allegedly been
collected near Frankfurt am Main. Most recent authors, however, believe
these specimens to be mislabelled.
Biology
This species requires riparian forests with a warm, humid climate.