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Sticker of Kawakawa looper
Bug card No. 2439 of 4,939

Kawakawa looper

Cleora scriptaria
Eats: PlantsMothsForests and woods6 legs

The kawakawa looper is a moth that lives only in New Zealand. Its wings are usually mottled yellow and brown, like old bark or dead leaves. Its caterpillars munch holes in the leaves of the kawakawa plant.

Lives in
Only in New Zealand, where it is fairly common across the country
Length
1 to 1.5 cm (0.39 to 0.59 in)
Wingspan
3 to 5.5 cm (1.2 to 2.2 in)
Top speed
about 16 km/h (9.9 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat kawakawa leaves at night, and some other plants too, even feijoa. The grown-up moths sip nectar from flowers.
For real!Photo of Kawakawa looper
Picture by Birgit E. Rhode, Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd.. CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Kawakawa looper about 1.5 cm long (0.59 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)

How wide are its wings?

Kawakawa looper wings about 5.5 cm tip to tip (2.2 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)A banana about 18 cm (7.1 in)
as long as 2.5 grains of rice in a rowwings as wide as 1.5 toy building brickscould fly across a whole football pitch in 24 secondsmoves 300 times its own body length every second

How big is Kawakawa looper compared to YOU?

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How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Kawakawa leaves have chemicals that keep most plant eaters away, but these caterpillars eat them anyway.

2

The caterpillar lies as flat as it can along a leaf vein or leaf edge so it is hard to spot.

3

The mother lays her pale green eggs in little groups of 3 to 12.

4

The female gives off a special smell, and the male finds her with his feathery antennae.

5

No two moths look exactly alike. Their colours and sizes change a lot.

you asked

Most asked questions about Kawakawa looper

?What does the kawakawa looper eat?

Its caterpillars eat kawakawa leaves and a few other plants. The moths drink nectar.

?Where does the kawakawa looper live?

Only in New Zealand, where it is common across the country.

?Is the kawakawa looper dangerous?

No. It is a harmless moth.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Cleora scriptaria
Named by
Walker, 1860
Group
Moths
Family
Geometridae
Classification
Insecta > Lepidoptera > Geometridae
Lives on
Australia and Oceania
Also known as
Kawakawa looper moth

Where the facts come from

  1. Cleora scriptaria (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. 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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