Common NamePorcelain GraySeasonalityThe peak flight season is late June to early July.IdentificationA mottled grey geometer with the usual AM and PM lines. The wing pattern is very similar to that of Ectropis crepuscularia, but the subterminal dark patch opposite the forewing discal cell is usually less prominent or absent in porcelaria, and the male antennae of porcelaria are much more strongly pectinate.
Scientific NameProtoboarmia porcelariaCommon Name
Porcelain Gray
Habitat
Generally common in mixedwood forests.
Seasonality
The peak flight season is late June to early July.
Identification
A mottled grey geometer with the usual AM and PM lines. The wing pattern is very similar to that of Ectropis crepuscularia, but the subterminal dark patch opposite the forewing discal cell is usually less prominent or…
A mottled grey geometer with the usual AM and PM lines. The wing pattern is very similar to that of Ectropis crepuscularia, but the subterminal dark patch opposite the forewing discal cell is usually less prominent or absent in porcelaria, and the male antennae of porcelaria are much more strongly pectinate.
Life History
The eggs are laid in large clusters at the base of conifer needles or the underside of deciduous hosts, hatching in about one week. The twig-like larva overwinters in the penultimate instar, often fully exposed on…
The eggs are laid in large clusters at the base of conifer needles or the underside of deciduous hosts, hatching in about one week. The twig-like larva overwinters in the penultimate instar, often fully exposed on branches of the host (McGuffin 1977, Wagner et al. 2001).
Conservation
Not of concern.
Diet Info
Larvae prefer conifers such as balsam fir (Abies), douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga), white spruce (Picea), tamarack (Larix), and western hemlock (Tsuga), but deciduous trees such as birches and poplars (Betula and Populus)…
Larvae prefer conifers such as balsam fir (Abies), douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga), white spruce (Picea), tamarack (Larix), and western hemlock (Tsuga), but deciduous trees such as birches and poplars (Betula and Populus) are also used on occasion (Prentice 1963).
Range
Widely distributed, from the southern Northwest Territories to Texas and Florida (McGuffin 1977).
Citation
Page Citation for Protoboarmia porcelaria
Page Citation
"Protoboarmia porcelaria, University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum." University of Alberta Museums Search Site, https://search.museums.ualberta.ca/g/2-4670. Accessed 27 Oct. 2021.