Anisozyga pieroides

Anisozyga pieroides (Walker, 1861)
(also known as: Eucyclodes pacifica)
Bizarre Looper
GEOMETRINAE, GEOMETRIDAE

Don Herbison-Evans ( donherbisonevans@yahoo.com )
&
Stella Crossley

Anisozyga pieroides
(Photo: courtesy of Nick Monaghan, Tewantin, Queensland)

The mature Caterpillars of this species look extraordinary, having a flange each side of each segment. They are brown, and resemble the ragged edge of a partially eaten leaf. The young Caterpillars have no flanges, but attach frass and other debris to their backs symmetrically, like the flanges they are going to develop. They eat leaves from a wide variety of plants, including :

Terminalia ( Terminalia carolinensis, COMBRETACEAE ),

Avocado ( Persea americana, LAURACEAE ),

various Broad-Leaved Wattles ( Acacia, MIMOSACEAE ),

Riberry ( Syzygium leuhmannii, MYRTACEAE ),

Roses ( Rosa odorata, ROSACEAE ), and

Macadamia Nuts ( Macadamia integrifolia, PROTEACEAE ).

The adult males and females look very different.

Male

The male is green, with a white pattern.

Female

The female is green with brown borders.

The moths have a wingspan of about 3 cms. They may be distinguished from other species in this genus as the hind wings have scalloped edges. They are found in

Queensland,

New South Wales,

Victoria, and

Tasmania.

Further reading :

Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia, Melbourne University Press, 1990, pls. 11.1, 27.2, 27.3, p. 373.

Paul Zborowski and Ted Edwards,
A Guide to Australian Moths, CSIRO Publishing, 2007, p. 138.