Asthena albulata, the small white wave, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is known from all of Europe and is also present in the Near East.

Asthena albulata
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Geometridae
Genus: Asthena
Species:
A. albulata
Binomial name
Asthena albulata
(Hufnagel, 1767)[1]
Synonyms
  • Phalaena albulata Hufnagel, 1767
  • Geometra candidata Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775
Figs. 3,3a,3b Larvae in various stages of growth

The wingspan is 14–18 mm. The ground colour of the wings is white (silky in appearance). There are fine brown cross-lines across both forewings and hindwings and a row of black dots along the margin of both wings. Asthena amurensis Stgr., from the Eastern Palearctic, is smaller, with distinct discal dots but wanting those of the distal margin.[2] The larva is slender, pale with large red spots, with quite long, dark setae.

There are two generations per year with adults on wing from mid-April to August.

The larvae feed on Corylus avellana, Betula and sometimes Carpinus betulus. Larvae can be found from May to September. It overwinters as a pupa.

References

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  1. ^ Yu, Dicky Sick Ki. "Asthena albulata (Hufnagel 1767)". Home of Ichneumonoidea. Taxapad. Archived from the original on March 25, 2016.
  2. ^ Prout, L. B. (1912–16). Geometridae. In A. Seitz (ed.) The Macrolepidoptera of the World. The Palaearctic Geometridae, 4. 479 pp. Alfred Kernen, Stuttgart.pdf  This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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