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Digital Guide to Moth Identification

Geometridae 91a1411 – 6956   Tetracis cervinaria (Packard, 1871)

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Distribution: British Columbia south to Kern County, California, eastward to western Montana, southeastern Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado. Absent from coastal southern California where replaced by T. australis. Seasonality and Size: February - June or a little later. FWL ~ 19-23 mm. Larva and Host Plants: See ZooTaxa paper regarding host plants. (see references) -- Host familiy: Betulaceae Ericaceae Fagaceae Rhamnaceae Rosaceae Salicaceae.  Host genera: Alnus Arbutus Arctostaphylos Ceanothus Cercocarpus Chrysolepis Frangula Populus Prunus Purshia Querc...  Host extended: confirmed host plants: Prunus Quercus, others "suspect" (Ferris & Schmidt 2010).  (Kimberley & Douglas 2025) Genitalia: See Ferris & Schmidt (2010). Similar Species: Pinned specimens of related species. (Hint: select View by Region on the related species page.) Synonymy: cervinaria (Packard, 1871) (Metanema) - MONA 1983: 6956 aurantiacaria (Packard, 1873) (Metanema) Taxonomic Notes: Tetracis cervinaria (Packard, 1871), n. comb. in Ferris & Schmidt (2010), was formerly in the genus Synaxis.

References (Caution: DNA barcoding at BOLD provides evidence of relatedness, not proof of identification; some BOLD specimens shown may not be sequenced.)

Ferris, C.D. & B.C. Schmidt, 2010. Revision of the North American Genera Tetracis Guenée and Synonymization of Synaxis Hulst with Descriptions of Three New Species (Lepidoptera: Geometridae: Ennominae). Zootaxa, 2347: 1-36. Powell, J. A. & P. A. Opler, 2009. Moths of Western North America, Pl. 30.28f, 30.29f; p. 218. Book Review and ordering Shropshire, K.J. & D.W. Tallamy, 2025. Lepidoptera of North America, north of Mexico: an annotated list containing geographic ranges and host-plant records. ZooKeys, 1261: 101-113; Suppl. 1. (PDF or read online) Species Page at BugGuide.Net Species Page at E. H. Strickland Museum Species Page at iNaturalist

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