{{Short description|Species of moth}} {{Speciesbox | name = Feathered thorn | image = Geometridae - Colotois pennaria.JPG | taxon = Colotois pennaria | authority = (Linnaeus, 1761) | synonyms = *''Himera pennaria'' <small>Linnaeus, (1926)</small> }}

The '''feathered thorn''' (''Colotois pennaria'') is a moth of the family Geometridae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1761.

==Etymology== The common name derives from the very strong feathering on the antennae of the male. Also the species name ''pennaria'' derives from the Latin suffix ''aria'' – meaning "related to or connected with" – at the end of the Latin word ''penna'' meaning "feather".

==Description== thumb|left|200px|Caterpillar The forewings of this species are basically brown but individuals vary greatly in tone from drab light brown to much richer reddish tones. They are usually marked with two dark fascia and a small discal spot but these features can be faint or almost absent. The hindwings are lighter buffish brown. The wingspan is 46–50&nbsp;mm, the males being usually larger and broader-winged than the females. Prout describes the aberrations<ref>Prout, L. B. (1912–16). Geometridae. In A. Seitz (ed.) ''The Macrolepidoptera of the World''. The Palaearctic Geometridae, 4. 479 pp. Alfred Kernen, Stuttgart.[https://archive.org/details/macrolepidoptera1216seit pdf]</ref><ref>Axel Hausmann (2015, In: Axel Hausmann (Hrsg.):, 2015 ''The Geometrid Moths of Europe''. 1. Auflage. Volume 1: Ennominae I, Stenstrup 2015, 978-90-04-26573-8</ref> The females tend to be rather sluggish but the males fly actively at night and are attracted to light. The species is on the wing from September to November {{ref|flight_season}}. The egg is olive-green with a ring of pale specks round the micropylar end; laid in a cluster on a twig, hibernating.The caterpillar is hairless, brown or purplish grey with ochreous spots and purplish grey with ochreous spots with reddish anal points.It is twig-like and reaches a length of up to 50&nbsp;mm. It can be found from May to July feeding mainly at night on a variety of trees and shrubs (see list below). The species overwinters as an egg.

# {{Note|flight_season}} ''The flight season refers to the British Isles. This may vary in other parts of the range.''

==Distribution== This species can be found throughout Europe and the Near East to the Caucasus and east to Sakhalin, Amur, Primorye, Korea, Japan (as subspecies ''ussuriensis'').

==Habitat== Found in mainly deciduous and mixed forests, and in large gardens.

==Gallery== <gallery> File:Colotois pennaria Lym.jpg| File:Colotois pennaria 9018r.jpg|Dorsal view File:Colotois pennaria 9021r.jpg|Ventral view </gallery>

==Subspecies== * ''Colotois pennaria paupera'' (Linnaeus, 1761) <ref name=fe>[https://web.archive.org/web/20131111025211/http://www.faunaeur.org/full_results.php?id=445959 ''C. p. pennaria'' in ''Fauna Europaea'']</ref> * ''Colotois pennaria pennaria'' Hausmann, 1995 Endemic in Cyprus.<ref name=fe2>[https://web.archive.org/web/20131111025253/http://www.faunaeur.org/full_results.php?id=445960 ''C. p. paupera'' in ''Fauna Europaea'']</ref> * ''Colotois pennaria ussuriensis'' Bang-Haas, 1927<ref name=fu>{{cite web |last=Savela |first=Markku |url=http://www.nic.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/geometroidea/geometridae/ennominae/colotois/#pennaria |title=''Colotois pennaria'' (Linnaeus, 1761) |website=Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms |access-date=March 26, 2019}}</ref>

==Recorded food plants== {| border="0" cellpadding="05" | *''Acer'' – maple *''Betula'' – birch *''Carpinus'' – hornbeam *''Castanea'' – chestnut *''Crataegus'' – hawthorn *''Fagus'' – beech *''Fraxinus'' – ash *''Hamamelis'' – witch-hazel *''Malus'' – apple | *''Photinia'' *''Populus'' – black poplar *''Prunus'' *''Pyrus'' – pear *''Quercus'' – oak *''Salix'' – willow *''Sorbus'' – rowan *''Ulmus'' – elm *''Viburnum''<ref name=fu/> |}

==References== {{Reflist}} *Chinery, Michael ''Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe'' 1986 (Reprinted 1991) *Skinner, Bernard ''Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles'' 1984

==External links== {{Commons category|Colotois pennaria}} {{Wikispecies|Colotois pennaria}} *[https://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?bf=1923 Feathered thorn on ''UKMoths''] *[http://www.leps.it/indexjs.htm?SpeciesPages/ColotPenna.htm ''Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa''] *[http://www.lepiforum.de/cgi-bin/lepiwiki.pl?Colotois_Pennaria ''Lepiforum e.V.'']

{{Taxonbar|from=Q949497}}

Category:Colotoini Category:Moths described in 1761 Category:Moths of Asia Category:Moths of Europe Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus