What is "abraxas grossulariata"

Magpie \Mag"pie\, n. [OE. & Prov. E. magot pie, maggoty pie, fr. Mag, Maggot, equiv. to Margaret, and fr. F. Marquerite, and common name of the magpie. Marguerite is fr. L. margarita pearl, Gr. ?, prob. of Eastern origin. See Pie magpie, and cf. the analogous names Tomtit, and Jackdaw.] (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous species of the genus Pica and related genera, allied to the jays, but having a long graduated tail.

2. Any one of several black-and-white birds, such as Gymnorhina tibicen, not belonging to the genus Pica.

Note: The common European magpie ( Pica pica, or Pica caudata) is a black and white noisy and mischievous bird. It can be taught to speak. The American magpie ( Pica Hudsonica) is very similar. The yellow-belled magpie ( Pica Nuttalli) inhabits Californi

1. The blue magpie ( Cyanopolius Cooki) inhabits Spain. Other allied species are found in Asia. The Tasmanian and Australian magpies are crow shrikes, as the white magpie ( Gymnorhina organicum), the black magpie ( Strepera fuliginosa), and the Australian magpie ( Cracticus picatus).

   3. A talkative person; a chatterbox.

   Magpie lark (Zo["o]l.), a common Australian bird ( Grallina picata), conspicuously marked with black and white; -- called also little magpie.

   Magpie moth (Zo["o]l.), a black and white European geometrid moth ( Abraxas grossulariata); the harlequin moth. Its larva feeds on currant and gooseberry bushes.

Abraxas grossulariata is a moth of the family Geometridae, native to the Palaearctic ecozone and North America. Its distinctive speckled colouration has given it a common name of magpie moth. The caterpillar is similarly coloured to the adult, and may be found as a pest feeding on the leaves of shrubs such as gooseberry.

The length of the forewing is 18–25 mm.The strikingly patterned forewings have a white ground cololor, with six transverse series of black stains, partly associated with a pale yellow basal cross-band and another through the central area of the forewing.The hind wings are paler, and have much less dark stains on them, and these are also small.

It is a highly variable species with many different forms. Research using Abraxas grossulariata led to the discovery of sex-linked characters.