Species introCountry intro
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.
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.
Lycia alpina is related to the Belted beauty (Lycia zonaria), which has similar characteristics, see:
"Lycia alpina" is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found in the Alps on altitudes between 1,000 and 2,500 meters and in the Jura Mountains. The wingspan is 28–40 mm for males. Females are wingless. Adults are on wing from April to July in one generation per year.
