Biston (moth)

Biston is a genus of large, long-winged moths belonging to the family Geometridae. It is most notable for containing the well-known peppered moth. The genus was first described by William Elford Leach in 1815.

Biston
Oak beauty, Biston strataria
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Geometridae
Tribe:	Bistonini
Genus:	Biston Leach, 1815
Synonyms
Dasyphara Billberg, 1820 Pachys Hübner, 1822 Eubyja Hübner, 1825 Amphidasis Treitschke, 1825 Amphidasys Sodoffsky, 1837 Amphidasea Unger, 1856 Buzura Walker, 1863 Culcula Moore, 1888 Eubyjodonta Warren, 1893 Blepharoctenia Warren, 1894 Epamraica Matsumura, 1910

Distribution

The species of Biston are widely distributed in Holarctic, Oriental, and Ethiopian regions.

Description

Antennae of Biston species. 1 bipectinate, with long rami (male of Biston melacron) 2 bipectinate, with short rami (male of Biston thibetaria) 3 filiform (female of Biston betularia). Scale bar = 1 mm

In 1895, British entomologist George Hampson described characteristics of the genus as follows:

"Its palpi are short and hairy. The thorax is stout and clothed with a thick pile. Its legs are hairy. The hind tibia are not dilated and have slight spurs. The forewings have rounded apexes and oblique outer margins. Vein 3 from near angle of cell. Veins 7 to 9 stalked from near the upper angle, and veins 10 and 11 stalked, where 10 often connected with veins 8 and 9. Hindwings with long cells and vein 3 from the angle."^[1]

Diversity

The genus currently contains 54 species and 40 subspecies.

Species

Species include:

• Biston achyra Wehrli, 1936
• Biston bengaliaria (Guenée, 1857)
• Biston betularia (Linnaeus, 1758) – peppered moth
• Biston brevipennata Inoue, 1982
• Biston bura (Warren, 1894)
• Biston contectaria (Walker, 1863)
• Biston exalbescens Inoue, 2000
• Biston falcata (Warren, 1893)
• Biston giganteus Inoue
• Biston hypoleucus Kuznetsov, 1901
• Biston inouei Holloway, 1993
• Biston insularis (Warren, 1894)
• Biston marginata Shiraki, 1913
• Biston mediolata Jiang, Nan, Dayong Xue & Hongxiang Han, 2011
• Biston melacron Wehrli, 1941
• Biston multidentata (Guedet, 1941)
• Biston panterinaria (Bremer & Grey, 1853)
• Biston pelidna Prout
• Biston perclara (Warren, 1899)
• Biston pustulata (Warren, 1896)
• Biston quercii (Oberthür, 1910)
• Biston regalis (Moore, 1888)
• Biston robustum Butler, 1879
• Biston strataria (Hufnagel, 1767) – oak beauty
• Biston subregalis Inoue
• Biston suppressaria (Guenée, 1857)
• Biston thibetaria (Oberthür, 1886)
• Biston thoracicarius (Oberthür, 1884)
• Biston tianschanicus Wehrli, 1940