# Orange Wing

*Mellilla xanthometata*

Like other geometer moths, their caterpillars are 'inchworms' that perfectly mimic twigs to escape hungry birds.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Lepidoptera › Geometridae › Mellilla
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** forest
- **Habitat:** Deciduous woodlands, forest edges, and parks containing honey locust trees.
- **Diet:** Caterpillars feed on the foliage of honey locust trees; adults drink flower nectar.
- **Range:** North America, Eastern United States, Great Plains
- **Size:** Wingspan of 16-22 mm
- **Lifespan:** 1 to 2 months
- **Active:** nocturnal
- **Threats:** Pesticide spraying, deforestation, and the removal of native host trees in urban landscaping.
- **Safe to approach?:** Completely harmless. These fragile moths are safe to observe at any distance. Avoid handling them directly, as touching their wings can rub off the delicate scales they need for flight.

## About

Mellilla is a monotypic moth genus in the family Geometridae erected by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1873. Its only species, Mellilla xanthometata , the orangewing moth , was first described by Francis Walker in 1862. It is found in most of eastern North America.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/e647ea6c-e93b-41fb-8e72-1683e9983f0a
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/118501
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mellilla xanthometata
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/3618610/medium.jpg (Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.