It is a well-known species distributed throughout the western Palearctic region except northern Europe, Corsica, Malta, Albania, and the Greek Islands.

A few isolated populations live outside of Europe in northern and eastern Turkey, Caucasus, Transcaucasus, and Turkmenistan.

In contrast to other geometrid caterpillars, they have an additional rudimentary abdominal leg pair in the fifth segment.

Long, spider's-web like strings hang from oak trees in the southern hemisphere.

The larva feeds on a range of trees: apple (Malus domestica), European plum (Prunus domestica), Zwetschge (Prunus domestica domestica), blackthorn (Prunus spinosa), bird cherry (Prunus padus), lime (Tilia species), pedunculate oak (Quercus robur), sessile oak (Quercus petraea), northern red oak (Quercus rubra), field maple Acer campestris, sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus), elm (Ulmus species), hawthorn (Crataegus species), dog rose (Rosa canina), wild privet (Ligustrum vulgare), hornbeam (Carpinus betulus), beech (Fagus sylvatica), hazel (Corylus avellana), ash (Fraxinus excelsior), fly honeysuckle (Lonicera xylosteum), common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) and silver birch (Betula pendula).