New Zealand Looper

Epyaxa rosearia · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Geometridae

Also called: Common Carpet

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
New Zealand Looper
Photo: Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd., CC BY

Adult New Zealand Looper moths vary in colour, often showing pinkish, brownish or olive-green tones. The caterpillars are light-green with faint whitish lines and a narrow dorsal stripe. They are common throughout New Zealand, live among forest-floor leaves, and the larvae feed on several exotic garden plants such as nasturtium, plantain and clover.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Adults may appear pinkish, brownish, or olive-green.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

They are found among leaves on the forest floor and are very common throughout New Zealand.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Larvae have been recorded feeding on exotic plants such as watercress, plantain, white clover, red clover, and nasturtium.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

The caterpillars form a glossy, very dark brown-black chrysalis.

Source: Wikipedia

When you see it

Adults are attracted to light and are often collected using mercury-vapour light traps.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

The species is endemic to New Zealand.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

New Zealand Looper photo 3
Photo: Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd., CC BY
New Zealand Looper photo 4
Photo: Donald Hobern, CC BY
New Zealand Looper photo 5
Photo: Donald Hobern, CC BY
New Zealand Looper photo 6
Photo: Jon Sullivan, CC BY

Questions people ask

What do the caterpillars of the New Zealand Looper look like?

They are light-green with faint whitish longitudinal lines, a narrow median dorsal stripe edged by whitish lines, and similar markings on the underside.

Source: Wikipedia

Where are New Zealand Looper moths commonly found?

They are very common throughout New Zealand and live among leaves on the forest floor.

Source: Wikipedia

What plants do the larvae of the New Zealand Looper eat?

The larvae feed on exotic garden plants such as watercress, plantain, white and red clover, nasturtium, and also on Caucasian clover.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Geometridae)

Willow BeautyWillow BeautyPeribatodes rhomboidariaPale BeautyPale BeautyCampaea perlataDamages trees, gardens or cropsLarge Lace-border MothLarge Lace-border MothScopula limboundataDamages trees, gardens or cropsRiband WaveRiband WaveIdaea aversataYellow Shell MothYellow Shell MothCamptogramma bilineataLarge Maple Spanworm MothLarge Maple Spanworm MothProchoerodes lineolaDamages trees, gardens or crops

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epyaxa_rosearia

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

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