Cleora scriptaria

Cleora scriptaria
Male
Female
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Clade:Euarthropoda
Class:Insecta
Order:Lepidoptera
Family:Geometridae
Genus:Cleora
Species: C. scriptaria
Binomial name
Cleora scriptaria
(Walker, 1860)[1]
Synonyms[2]
  • Tephrosia scriptaria Walker, 1860
  • Scotosia stigmaticata Walker, 1862
  • Scotosia panagrata Walker, 1862
  • Barsine panagrata Walker, 1862
  • Selidosema panagrata Walker, 1862
  • Angerona menanaria Walker, 1863
  • Epirranthis antipodaria Felder, 1875
  • Hyperythra arenacea Butler, 1879
  • Hyperythra desiccate Butler, 1879

Cleora scriptaria, the kawakawa looper moth, is a moth in the family Geometridae found only in New Zealand.[3]

Taxonomy

C. scriptaria was first described by Francis Walker in 1860 as Tephrosia scriptaria using specimens obtained from Major Parry.[4]

Description

The adults are extremely variable in size and colour, which led to the species being described under several different names, but are generally brownish with a wingspan of 40–50 mm and a kidney-shaped spot in the middle of the forewing.[5]

Host plants

Its green or brown larvae are notable for feeding at night on the leaves of the kawakawa, Piper excelsum, leaving a distinctive pattern of holes.[3] They do not feed exclusively on kawakawa, and can also be found on horopito (Pseudowintera sp.), wineberry/makomako (Aristotelia serrata), ramarama (Lophomyrtus sp.), akeake (Dodonea viscosa), and even introduced feijoas (Acca sellowiana).[5][6][7]

References

  1. ↑ "Cleora scriptaria (Walker, 1860)". Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  2. ↑ Dugdale, J. S. (1988). "Lepidoptera-annotated catalogue, and keys to family-group taxa" (PDF). Fauna of New Zealand. 14: 1–264 – via Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd.
  3. 1 2 Martin, N. A. (2017). "Kawakawa looper - Cleora scriptaria". Landcare Research.
  4. ↑ Walker, Frances (1860). "XXI: Geometrites (continued)". List of the specimens of lepidopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. pt. 19–21: 277–498 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  5. 1 2 "Cleora scriptaria (Kawakawa looper moth)". T.E.R.R.A.I.N. – Taranaki Educational Resource, Research, Analysis, and Information Network. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  6. ↑ Crowe, Andrew (2002). Which New Zealand Insect?. Auckland: Penguin. p. 21. ISBN 0141006366.
  7. ↑ "PlantSynz - Invertebrate herbivore biodiversity assessment tool: Database". plant-synz.landcareresearch.co.nz. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
  • The kawakawa looper discussed on RNZ Critter of the Week, 11 August 2017


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