Juniper geometer moth
Patalene olyzonaria
The juniper geometer moth is a small moth whose caterpillars live on juniper bushes. Like other geometer caterpillars, they move by looping their bodies, as if measuring the twig. The moths can be seen for much of the year.
Lives in
Eastern and central United States and Quebec, where junipers grow
Wingspan
2.1 to 2.5 cm (0.83 to 0.98 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Moths cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat juniper, and sometimes white cedar and maybe pine.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
🍚wings as wide as 4 grains of rice in a row⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 34 seconds
How big is Juniper geometer moth compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
Juniper geometer moth about 11 km/h (6.8 mph)
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
The moths fly from April all the way to November.
2
There are two or three generations every year.
3
It lives from Quebec and New Hampshire down to Florida and west to Texas.
you asked
Most asked questions about Juniper geometer moth
?What does the juniper geometer eat?
Its caterpillars eat juniper, and sometimes white cedar.
?How big is the juniper geometer moth?
Its wingspan is about 2 to 2.5 centimetres.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Patalene olyzonaria
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Geometridae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Geometridae
- Lives on
- North America
- Also known as
- Juniper-twig geometer
Where the facts come from
- Patalene olyzonaria (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 Beatriz Moisset. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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