Mottled Umber Moth vs Green Oak Tortrix

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Mottled Umber Moth Green Oak Tortrix
Scientific Name Erannis defoliaria Tortrix viridana
Order Lepidoptera Lepidoptera
Family Geometridae Tortricidae
Size 35-45 mm wingspan (males) 20-24 mm wingspan
Habitat Orchards Woodlands
Diet Herbivores Herbivores
Regions Europe, Western Asia Europe, Western Asia, North Africa
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Mottled Umber Moth

A variably patterned brown moth where males range from pale to almost black. Females are completely wingless and resemble small spiders.

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Did You Know?

Wingless females attract mates by releasing pheromones from the trunk of their host tree.

Green Oak Tortrix

A small bright green moth with pale hindwings that is the most important oak defoliator in Europe. Outbreak years can turn whole oak canopies brown by June.

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Did You Know?

Defoliation by this moth has shaped oak woodland ecology for thousands of years.