Macaria brunneata

Macaria brunneata, the Rannoch looper, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Peter Thunberg in 1784. It is found in Siberia, Japan, and northern and mountainous parts of North America, and throughout Europe,^[2] though in Britain it is largely or entirely restricted to mature forests in central Scotland.^[3]

Illustration from John Curtis's British Entomology Volume 6

Macaria brunneata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Geometridae
Genus:	Macaria
Species:	M. brunneata
Binomial name
Macaria brunneata (Thunberg, 1784)
Synonyms[1]
Itame brunneata Semiothisa brunneata Speranza brunneata Thunberg, 1784 Geometra brunneata Thunberg, 1784 Phalaena fulvaria Villers, 1789 Geometra pinetaria Hübner, [1799] Geometra quinquaria Hübner, [1822] Speranza sylvaria Curtis, 1828 Eupistheria[sic] ferruginaria Packard, 1873

The wingspan is 25–30 mm (0.98–1.18 in). The length of the forewings is 11–13 mm (0.43–0.51 in). It flies during the day, and when at rest often holds its wings closed as a butterfly does. The moth flies in June and July in Britain^[3] and in July and August in North America.^[4]

The caterpillars feed on bilberry in Britain^[3] and on that and other plants of the heath family, such as bearberry, in North America.^[2]