The body surface has a rough appearance. Individual Caterpillars vary in colour from orange to red-brown. Abdominal segments two, three, and eight have small paired dorsal horns. The first pair of ventral prolegs is absent and the second and third pairs are reduced in size, and do not appear to clasp the stem. The anal prolegs are extended sideways, giving the anal segment a forked appearance. Some forms are plain brown, and some have a set of four narrow black bands around the body.

During the day, they either stretch out and press against a stem, or they loop the front of the body into a circle so that the head and thorax lie on top of the abdomen. In this position, the Caterpillar looks as if it has tied itself into a knot. We have not seen this unusual posture in any other species. The Caterpillar grows to a length of about 4 cms.

(Photo: courtesy of Merlin Crossley)

In Melbourne, pupation took place in early August, and the adlut moths emerged some seven months later in February the following year.

(Photo: courtesy of Catherine J. Young)

The adult moth has grey fore wings with black transverse stripes and veins. The hind wings and the undersurfaces of all four wings are silver with a black termen.

(Photo: courtesy of Merlin Crossley)

Females captured in in April in Melbourne deposited neat rows of eggs along the edges of leaves. The eggs hatched after about 18 days.

Further reading :

Catherine J. Young,
Characterisation of the Australian Nacophorini and a Phylogeny for the Geometridae from Molecular and Morphological Data,
Ph.D. thesis, University of Tasmania, 2003.

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