Phrissogonus laticostata

Phrissogonus laticostata (Walker, 1862)
(one synonym is : Scotosia canata)
Apple Looper
EUPITHECIINI , LARENTIINAE , GEOMETRIDAE

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

(updated 17 November 2008)

This Caterpillar starts life as one of a number of off-white spheroidal eggs laid by its mother individually.

The Caterpillar has been found feeding on the flower buds of:

Sunflowers ( Helianthus annuus, ASTERACEAE ),

St. John's Wort ( Hypericum perforatum, CLUSIACEAE ),

Wattles ( Acacia species, MIMOSACEAE ), and

Goat's Beard ( Clematis aristata, RANUNCULACEAE ),

but in captivity happily fed on the flower petals from :

Roses ( Rosa odorata, ROSACEAE ).

The Caterpillars grow to a length of about 0.7 cms.

Female

The adult moth is brown with a wavy pattern of darker brown, and the male is notable for the projections on the costa of each fore wing. The wing span is about 1.5 cms.

Male

The species is found over the south Pacific including, including :

New Caledonia,

New Zealand,
and in Australia in:

Queensland,

Victoria, and

Male, underside

In Sydney, counts were made of the number of adults coming to a nightly ultra-violet light, and the numbers totalled for each month of the year :

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
7	6	2	0	0	0	2	5	40	8	0	16

Female, laying an egg
(Photo: courtesy of Jenni Horsnell, Wagga Wagga)