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Female Belted beauty moth (Lycia zonaria) The Belted beauty can be found all over Europe, but often only in small habitat patches. Females do not have wings, making it hard for this species to migrate to new habitats.<br /> <br /> To the south a Munich lies a disused airstrip with surroundings meadows which is a well-known spot for finding these beauties.<br /> <br /> In the same patch we also encountered some male specimens, such as:<br /> <figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/146050/male_belted_beauty_moth_lycia_zonaria.html" title="Male Belted beauty moth (Lycia zonaria)"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/8383/146050_thumb.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1681948810&Signature=6VnbXH15pPpHKF7V1hWI5fcU%2F%2Fk%3D" width="200" height="134" alt="Male Belted beauty moth (Lycia zonaria) The Belted beauty can be found all over Europe, but often only in small habitat patches. Females do not have wings, making it hard for this species to migrate to new habitats.<br /> <br /> To the south a Munich lies a disused airstrip with surroundings meadows which is a well-known spot for finding these beauties.<br /> <br /> In a patch of a few square meters we encountered many females as well, such as<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/146051/lycia_zonaria_.html Deutschland,Falter,Geotagged,Germany,Lycia zonaria,Schmetterling,Spring,Tiere,butterfly,mariposa" /></a></figure><br /> <br /> A related species, found in the higher regions of the Alps, is Lycia alpina:<br /> <figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/146074/female_lycia_alpina_moth.html" title="Female Lycia alpina moth"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/8383/146074_thumb.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1681948810&Signature=i24L3I5BVB0ENU0fZDpwjKIw6t0%3D" width="200" height="134" alt="Female Lycia alpina moth This is another species of Geometridae in which the adult females are wingless. It lives in the upper regions of the European Alps as well as a bit lower in the Swiss Jura.<br /> <br /> This full-grown female measures some 2cm. I would never ever have spotted it myself during our hike in the High Tauern region, since it looks very much like a piece of plant seed or bird&#039;s dropping. But my butterfly specialist partner has a sixth sense when it comes to spotting these little creatures (it seems super-human to me at times&hellip;), so I joyfully took some pictures of this rare sight. At early July and an altitude of ca 2250m, there were several large patches of snow directly next to this spot.<br /> <br /> Lycia alpina is related to the Belted beauty (Lycia zonaria), which has similar characteristics, see:<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/146051/female_belted_beauty_moth_lycia_zonaria.html Austria,Falter,Geotagged,Lycia alpina,Schmetterling,Summer,Tiere,butterfly,mariposa,&Ouml;sterreich" /></a></figure> Deutschland,Falter,Geotagged,Germany,Lycia zonaria,Schmetterling,Spring,Tiere,butterfly,mariposa Click/tap to enlarge Promoted

Female Belted beauty moth (Lycia zonaria)

The Belted beauty can be found all over Europe, but often only in small habitat patches. Females do not have wings, making it hard for this species to migrate to new habitats.

To the south a Munich lies a disused airstrip with surroundings meadows which is a well-known spot for finding these beauties.

In the same patch we also encountered some male specimens, such as:

Male Belted beauty moth (Lycia zonaria) The Belted beauty can be found all over Europe, but often only in small habitat patches. Females do not have wings, making it hard for this species to migrate to new habitats.<br /> <br /> To the south a Munich lies a disused airstrip with surroundings meadows which is a well-known spot for finding these beauties.<br /> <br /> In a patch of a few square meters we encountered many females as well, such as<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/146051/lycia_zonaria_.html Deutschland,Falter,Geotagged,Germany,Lycia zonaria,Schmetterling,Spring,Tiere,butterfly,mariposa


A related species, found in the higher regions of the Alps, is Lycia alpina:
Female Lycia alpina moth This is another species of Geometridae in which the adult females are wingless. It lives in the upper regions of the European Alps as well as a bit lower in the Swiss Jura.<br /> <br /> This full-grown female measures some 2cm. I would never ever have spotted it myself during our hike in the High Tauern region, since it looks very much like a piece of plant seed or bird's dropping. But my butterfly specialist partner has a sixth sense when it comes to spotting these little creatures (it seems super-human to me at times…), so I joyfully took some pictures of this rare sight. At early July and an altitude of ca 2250m, there were several large patches of snow directly next to this spot.<br /> <br /> Lycia alpina is related to the Belted beauty (Lycia zonaria), which has similar characteristics, see:<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/146051/female_belted_beauty_moth_lycia_zonaria.html Austria,Falter,Geotagged,Lycia alpina,Schmetterling,Summer,Tiere,butterfly,mariposa,Österreich

    comments (2)

  1. View Calbost Niel's profile
    Calbost Niel
    Lion
    View Lion class
    Quite amazing Posted one month ago
  2. View Christine Young's profile
    Christine Young
    Lion
    View Lion class
    Very cool to see the wingless females! Posted one month ago

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The Belted Beauty Moth

"Lycia zonaria", the belted beauty, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775 and it is found in most of Europe.

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Similar species: Moths And Butterflies
Species identified by pysailor
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By pysailor

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Uploaded Jan 29, 2023. Captured Mar 30, 2019 13:30 in Landscape Park Hachinger Valley, An d. Hachinger Haid, 82008 Unterhaching, Germany.
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  • Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • f/11.0
  • 1/250s
  • ISO250
  • 105mm
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