Friday 5 December 2008

Small Grass Emerald (Chlorissa viridata)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Chlorissa ("?") viridata ("green")
Adult Small Grass Emerald (subspecies C. v. melinaria) at Geddington, Northants - June 2011

Featured Subspecies: Chlorissa viridata melinaria
Wingspan: 24-27mm
UK STATUS NOT EVALUATED IUCN Red List: Not Yet Evaluated 

A scarce and local species, the Small Grass Emerald is mostly restricted to the South of England where it is found in moorland habitats suitable for it's foodplants of heather and birch.  This moth had flown into our house one night, which is a little odd as as far as I can find out we are out of the normal range for this moth.

Related Species:
Order: 
Lepidoptera 
Family: Geometridae 
Genus: Chlorissa
SUBSPECIES: C. v. virdata, C. v. melinaria, C. v. insigniata

- Sighting Locations -
UNITED KINGDOM A fairly common resident
 - Seen in Geddington

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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