Comostolopsis germana L.B. Prout, 1916
Bijou Tip Moth
 GEOMETRINAE,   GEOMETRIDAE,   GEOMETROIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Comostolopis germana
(Photo: copyright of Brett and Marie Smith, at Ellura Sanctuary, South Australia)

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.

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

    The adult moth is pale green, and normally rests with its wings held flat against its supporting surface. The wingspan is about 1.5 cms.

    The species occurs naturally in

  • South Africa.

    The species is now found in

  • New South Wales,
  • Victoria,
  • Tasmania, and
  • South Australia.

    Further reading :

    Louis Beethoven Prout,
    New South African Geometridae,
    Annals of the Transvaal Museum,
    Volume 5 (1916), p. 156.

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    (updated 4 September 2009, 13 January 2017, 27 October 2020)