Poecilasthena schistaria

Poecilasthena schistaria
Female
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Clade:Euarthropoda
Class:Insecta
Order:Lepidoptera
Family:Geometridae
Genus:Poecilasthena
Species: P. schistaria
Binomial name
Poecilasthena schistaria
(Walker, 1861)[1]
Synonyms
  • Acidalia schistaria Walker, 1861
  • Asthena schistaria

Poecilasthena schistaria, the kanuka looper, is a moth in the family Geometridae. It is found in New Zealand.[2]

The wings vary from very pale brown to rather dull purplish-brown with numerous jagged, darker transverse lines. Adults are on wing from October to April.[3]

The larvae feed on Leptospermum scoparium.[4] They are dull green with a white more or less black-edged band down each side. There is a thin central white line on the back, and a narrow yellow line half-way between it and the lateral white band. The head is dull green.[5] Pupation takes place in a slight cocoon below the surface of the earth.

References

  1. ↑ "Home of Ichneumonoidea". Taxapad. Dicky Sick Ki Yu. 1997–2012. Retrieved 2013. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. ↑ Beccaloni, G.; Scoble, M.; Kitching, I.; Simonsen, T.; Robinson, G.; Pitkin, B.; Hine, A.; Lyal, C., eds. (2003). "Poecilasthena schistaria". The Global Lepidoptera Names Index. Natural History Museum.
  3. ↑ New Zealand moths and butterflies (Macro-Lepidoptera)
  4. ↑ Rod Morris: New Zealand Invertebrates
  5. ↑ Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand 1868-1961


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