Mottled Umber (Erannis defoliaria) | Species | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Male. Taken at Aston, Oxon., on November 13th 2025. (© David Hastings) (Canon R6+RF100, f/11, 1/200th, ISO8000, 100mm) DescriptionFamily: Geometridae (ABH : 70.256) Wing span: 36 - 50mm The male is very variable. The fore-wing is usually rather tapered, with a ground colour from off-white to brown. The outer cross-band is brown or blackish, almost always bowed in the leading half. There is often a dark central spot. The female is flightless. It is well distributed throughout the British Isles. It is most abundant in woodland. Also in scrub, hedgerows, gardens, calcareous grassland, heathland and moorland. There is one generation from October to January. It over-winters as an egg on the food-plant. Larvae feed on many broad-leaved trees and shrubs, including oaks, birches, Hazel, hawthorns, Goat Willow, Field Maple and elms. Males come to light, from dusk until well after midnight. Earliest UK sighting: 11th November ; Latest UK sighting: 30th November Sightings
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