Chiasmia assimilis (Warren, 1899)
 (previously known as Semiothisa assimilis)
MACARIINI,   ENNOMINAE,   GEOMETRIDAE,   GEOMETROIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Chiasmia assimilis
(Photo: by C.J. Lockett, K. Dhileepan, M. Robinson & K.J. Pukallus)
(courtesy of David Low, Weed News)

These caterpillars are green loopers, with a pale line along each side. They were introduced in in 1998 and again in 2002 to Australia from Africa to control the introduced weed :

  • Prickly Acacia ( Acacia nilotica, MIMOSACEAE ).

    The caterpillars feed on its leaves.

    Chiasmia assimilis
    (Photo: courtesy of Graeme Cocks, Townsville, Queensland)

    Tha adult moths are greyish-brown with a vague banded pattern. The wingspan is about 3 cms.

    Chiasmia assimilis
    (Photo: courtesy of Axel Hausmann, SNSB, Zoologische Staatssammlung Muenchen)

    The species is found across Africa, including

  • Cameroon,
  • South Africa, and
  • Yemen,

    and is now also found in Australia in

  • Queensland.

    Twelve microsatellite loci have been identified in the genome of this species.

    Further Reading

    C.J. Lockett, K. Dhileepan, M. Robinson, and K.J. Pukallus,
    Impact of a biological control agent, Chiasmia assimilis, on prickly acacia (Acacia nilotica ssp. indica) seedlings,
    Biological Control,
    Volume 62, Issue 3 (September 2012), pp. 183-188.

    William Warren,
    New Drepanulidae, Thyrididae, and Geometridae from the Aethiopian region,
    Novitates Zoologicae,
    Volume 6 (1899), p. 310, No. 58.

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    (written 25 January 2005, updated 7 January 2013, 23 September 2019)