Comostolopsis germana

Comostolopsis germana L.B. Prout, 1916
Bijou Tip Moth
GEOMETRINAE, GEOMETRIDAE, GEOMETROIDEA

Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Comostolopis germana
(Photo: courtesy of Johan Heyns, Mossel Bay, South Africa)

This species has been deliberately introduced into Australia. About 8,000 individuals were released by Craig Clarke, a PhD student with the University of Adelaide's Department of Crop Protection, in South Australia in a bid to combat two common species of weeds which were introduced from South Africa, possibly unintentionally in a ballast dump from a South African ship :

Boneseed ( Chrysanthemoides monilifera, ASTERACEAE ), and

White Horehound ( Marrubium vulgare, LAMIACEAE ),

which are found throughout the Adelaide Hills, covering an estimated 20 million hectares of land, including valuable pasture.

(Photo: courtesy of CSIRO/CNC/CBG Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

Similar biological control programs have been implemented in New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania.

The adult moth has green wings, each with a dark spot near the middle, and one or two pale zigzag transverse lines. It normally rests with its wings held flat against its supporting surface. The wingspan is about 1.5 cms.

The species is endemic in Africa, for example

South Africa, and

Zambia.

The species may now be found in

New South Wales,

Victoria,

Tasmania, and

South Australia.