Bug FAQKanuka looper
Poecilasthena schistaria · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Geometridae
The Kanuka looper’s wings range from very pale brown to dull purplish-brown with many jagged dark lines. It lives in New Zealand and its caterpillars eat the plant Leptospermum scoparium. Adults fly from October to April, and the larvae pupate in a thin cocoon just below the soil surface.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Wings vary from very pale brown to dull purplish-brown with many jagged, darker transverse lines.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Found in New Zealand.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae feed on the plant Leptospermum scoparium.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Pupation occurs in a slight cocoon just below the soil surface.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are on the wing from October through April.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Native to New Zealand.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Geometridae)
Willow BeautyPeribatodes rhomboidaria
Pale BeautyCampaea perlataDamages trees, gardens or crops
Large Lace-border MothScopula limboundataDamages trees, gardens or crops
Riband WaveIdaea aversata
Yellow Shell MothCamptogramma bilineata
Large Maple Spanworm MothProchoerodes lineolaDamages trees, gardens or cropsSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poecilasthena_schistaria
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.