Fan-foot Moth vs Autumnal Moth

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Fan-foot Moth Autumnal Moth
Scientific Name Zanclognatha tarsipennalis Epirrita autumnata
Order Lepidoptera Lepidoptera
Family Erebidae Geometridae
Size 26-32 mm wingspan 28-35 mm wingspan
Habitat Woodlands Forests
Diet Herbivores Herbivores
Regions Europe Scandinavia, Finland, northern Russia, subarctic Siberia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Fan-foot Moth

A subtle brown moth with fan-shaped palps and delicate wing markings. Found in woodland where dead leaves accumulate. Larvae feed on dead leaves on the woodland floor.

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Did You Know?

The males have distinctive enlarged fan-shaped labial palps that give this moth its common name.

Autumnal Moth

A grayish-brown moth with faint wavy crosslines on the forewings. It flies in autumn in subarctic birch forests. Periodic outbreaks of its larvae can completely defoliate vast areas of mountain birch forest.

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Did You Know?

Outbreaks of this moth in Scandinavian birch forests occur roughly every 10 years and can kill entire mountain birch forests across thousands of hectares.