Charissa ambiguata

Charissa ambiguata
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Geometridae
Genus:	Charissa
Species:	C. ambiguata
Binomial name
	Charissa ambiguata; (Duponchel, 1830)
Synonyms
	Kemtrognophos ambiguata Duponchel, 1830 ; Gnophos ambiguatus Duponchel, 1830;

Charissa ambiguata is a species of moth that belongs to the genus Charissa.^[2]

Etymology

The species name ambiguata derives from the Latin word "ambiguus", meraning doubtful, uncertain, probably so named for the difficulty of distinguishing this species.^[3]

Subspecies

Subspecies include:^[1]

Charissa ambiguata ambiguata (Duponchel, 1830)
Charissa ambiguata graecaria (Staudinger, 1861)
Charissa ambiguata pullularia (Herrich-Schaffer, 1856)
Charissa ambiguata tatrensis (Vojnits, 1969)

Distribution

This species is native to Eurasia.^[2]^[4] It is widespread in most of the mountains of Europe up to more than 2500 m of altitude. It frequents the surroundings of fir forests in cool and humid places.^[5]

Description

Charissa ambiguata can reach a wingspan of 28–31 mm (1.1–1.2 in). It can easily be confused with other "stone moths", especially with Elophos dilucidaria. However the genitalia in both sexes show marked differences compared to all externally similar species.^[3]

This moth is very variable, with a gray-brownish background crossed by two transversal lines and ocelli with a faded appearance. Male shows filiform antennae.^[5]

Biology

This species fly from May to September. The imago is sometimes active during the day but it also comes to light. Larva of this polyphagous species mainly feeds on Sedum, Artemisia, Taraxacum, Campanula, and Plantago species, on Rubus idaeus, Polygala chamaebuxus, Vaccinium myrtillus and Vaccinium uliginosum.^[6]^[7] The caterpillar overwinters.^[5]