Cream wave

{{Short description|Species of geometer moth in subfamily Sterrhinae}} {{For |the moth from Australia and Indonesia with this name |Scopula perlata{{!}}''Scopula perlata''}} {{Speciesbox |image = Scopula floslactata - Cream wave - Малая пяденица подмаренниковая (40080559855).jpg |taxon = Scopula floslactata |authority = (Haworth, 1809) |synonyms = *''Phalaena brunneata'' Goeze, 1781 *''Phalaena cariata'' Schrank, 1802 *''Phalaena concatenata'' Hufnagel, 1767 *''Phalaena dentilinearia'' Borkhausen, 1794 *''Phalaena fulvicans'' Fourcroy, 1785 *''Phalaena fulvostriata'' Goeze, 1781 *''Phalaena lactata'' Haworth, 1809 *''Scopula scotica'' Cockayne, 1951 *''Geometra remutaria'' Hubner 1799 *''Scopula spataceata'' (Scopoli, 1763) *''Phalaena strigata'' Fourcroy, 1785 *''Phalaena sublactata'' Haworth, 1809 }}

The '''cream wave''' (''Scopula floslactata'') is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Adrian Hardy Haworth in 1809.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Sihvonen |first=Pasi |date=April 1, 2005 |title=Phylogeny and classification of the Scopulini moths (Lepidoptera: Geometridae, Sterrhinae) |journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=143 |issue=4 |pages=473–530 |doi=10.1111/j.1096-3642.2005.00153.x|doi-access=free }}</ref> It is found in forest and woodland regions, feeding on grasses and small plants such as dandelion.

==Distribution== It is a very common species in parts of France and central Europe. The range in the north extends to Scandinavia and Finland.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.faunaeur.org/full_results.php?id=444375|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304213318/http://www.faunaeur.org/full_results.php?id=444375|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 4, 2016|title=''Scopula'' (''Calothysanis'') ''floslactata'' (Haworth, 1809)|website=Fauna Europaea|version=2.6.2|date=29 August 2013|accessdate=18 April 2017}}</ref> The species is largely missing in southern Europe. There are isolated occurrences in southern Bulgaria and the Pyrenees). It extends east across the Palearctic from the Urals to the Russian Far East (Sakhalin) to Korea, north-eastern China and Japan.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://biostor.org/reference/85935|author=P. Sihvonen|author-link=Pasi Sihvonen|title=The Sterrhinae moth fauna of Fenglin Nature Reserve, North-East China (Insecta, Lepidoptera, Geometridae) |year=2006|journal=Spixiana|via=BioStor|volume=29|pages=247–257}}</ref>

==Description== ''Scopula floslactata'' has a wingspan of about three centimetres. Colour and pattern are variable. The wings are creamy white to yellowish white. Across the forewings and hindwings, there are usually three jagged crosslines. Occasionally, there is a wavy line in the marginal field. The discal flecks are small and are often missing on the forewings, or very much blurred. In contrast, the discal flecks on the hindwings are almost always present. The fringes are sometimes also slightly darker than the ground colour. The males have small, feathered antennae.<ref>Meyrick, E., 1895 ''A Handbook of British Lepidoptera'' MacMillan, London [https://archive.org/details/handbookofbritis00meyr/page/n7 pdf] {{PD-notice}} Keys and description</ref>

It is similar to ''Scopula immutata'', but distinguished by its less rounded forewings and less developed or absent black discal spot.

==Biology== It has one generation per year, with adults taking flight from late May through early July.

The larvae feed on woodruff (''Galium odoratum''), dandelion (''Taraxacum officinale''), bilberry (''Vaccinium myrtillus''), ''Lonicera xylosteum'', ''Alnus glutinosa'', ''Galium verum'', ''Rumex acetosa'', and ''Vicia sepium''. They also eat dry leaves of poplars (''Populus'') and willow (''Salix'').

==Subspecies== *''Scopula floslactata floslactata'' (Europe to China) *''Scopula floslactata claudata'' Prout, 1913 (Japan, Korea, Russia: Primorye and South Kuriles)

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Scopula floslactata}} *[https://www.ukmoths.org.uk/species/scopula-floslactata/ Cream wave at ''UKMoths''] *[http://www.lepiforum.de/lepiwiki.pl?Scopula_Floslactata ''Lepiforum e.V.'']

Category:Moths described in 1809 floslactata Category:Moths of Asia Category:Moths of Europe Category:Taxa named by Adrian Hardy Haworth