Forest semilooper
The forest semilooper is a moth that lives only in New Zealand. No two look quite the same, because their colours and patterns change a lot from moth to moth.
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Fun facts
The grown-up moths are attracted to bright lights.
In the 1980s there suddenly were far fewer of them. Scientists think wasps that arrived in New Zealand may be to blame.
Later they came back. Moths that came out later in the season may have escaped the wasps.
Its caterpillars also eat trees from other countries, like pines, Douglas firs, larches and eucalyptus.
Most asked questions about Forest semilooper
?Where does the forest semilooper live?
Only in New Zealand.
?What does the forest semilooper eat?
Its caterpillars feed on many kinds of shrubs and trees, including pine trees.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Declana floccosa
- Named by
- Walker, 1863
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Geometridae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Geometridae
- Lives on
- Australia and Oceania
- Also known as
- Manuka moth
Where the facts come from
- Declana floccosa (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Birgit E. Rhode, Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd.. CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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