Figure Of Eighty

Tethea ocularis, the figure of eighty, is a moth of the family Drepanidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1767 12th edition of Systema Naturae. It is found throughout Continental Europe and has a scattered distribution in England and Wales, although it is absent from Scotland and Ireland.

Illustration from John Curtis's British Entomology Volume 5

Fig 7, 7a larvae after final moult

The wingspan is 35–45 mm; the dark brown forewings being marked with dark-centred white stigmata which do look rather like the number 80. The hindwings are grey. The species flies from May to July^[1] and is attracted to light and sugar.

The grey and white larva feeds on poplar and aspen. The species overwinters as a pupa.

Subspecies

• Tethea ocularis ocularis
• Tethea ocularis ocularis amurensis (Warren, 1912) (Russian Far East, north-eastern and northern China, Mongolia, Korea)
• Tethea ocularis opa Zolotuhin, 1997 (Uzbekistan, China: Xinjiang)
• Tethea ocularis osthelderi (Bytinski-Salz & Brandt, 1937) (Iran)
• Tethea ocularis tanakai Inoue, 1982 (Japan)

1. ^ The flight season refers to the British Isles. This may vary in other parts of the range.

References

• Chinery, Michael (1986, reprinted 1991). Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe.
• Skinner, Bernard (1984). The Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles.