BUGS: Archiearis

[Chris Schmidt]

Daniel inquired about Archiaris infans, so I'll share what i know about 
this critter. The common name is "The Infant", presumably because it is one 
of the first Leps to emerge in the spring, even before the Spring Azures 
are out. It's a member of the family Geometridae, the inch-worm moths. 
There is only one other closely related species in Canada, Leucobrephos 
brephoides. This species is also day-flying, but has white and black 
hindwings.
A. infans feeds on birch as larvae, and is typical of the boreal forest and 
foothills region (the Cypress Hills population is quite isolated from the 
nearest boreal populations; the slight differences in markings and size of 
specimens from here may be a result of this isolation).


Cheers,

Chris

Edmonton.
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From: 	Daniel & Monica Glaeske[SMTP:daniel.monica.glaeske at sk.sympatico.ca]
Reply To: 	daniel.monica.glaeske at sk.sympatico.ca
Sent: 	Saturday, May 08, 1999 6:31 AM
To: 	AlbertaBugs
Cc: 	Lepidoptera listserv
Subject: 	BUGS: Archiearis

Many thanks to whomever emailed me about the unidentified moth -- it
does look the Archiearis figured in Covell. However, there are still
substantial differences:

1. My specimens are smaller.
2. the UHW has no discal dark coloration, just some submarginal
bands/chevrons.

Is there anyone out there who can tell me about Archiearis?  I
understand from Scoble that there are about 12 North American species.

TIA.

Daniel

St. Victor, SK, Canada