Macaria notata

Macaria notata, known in English as the peacock moth, is a moth of the family Geometridae, the large family of geometer moths whose caterpillars move in a looping gait. It is a Holarctic species, meaning it occurs across the northern temperate parts of both the Old World and the New World. In the Palearctic it is recorded from central and northern Europe through Russia and Transcaucasia to Iran, the Issyk Kul region, the Russian Far East, Siberia and Japan, and in the Nearctic from southern Canada through several northern and eastern United States. The wingspan is 28 to 32 millimetres. A black spot shaped like a paw print on the whitish grey-brown speckled forewing, a clear cut in the front half of the forewing margin and a strongly pointed hindwing help separate it from other Macaria moths, apart from Macaria alternata, and a certain identification needs the genitalia examined. Adults fly from May to June in the British Isles, and the caterpillars feed mainly on birch.