Eucyclodes pieroides (Walker, 1861)
Wattle Bizarre Looper
 (formerly known as Comibaena pieroides)
GEOMETRINAE,   GEOMETRIDAE,   GEOMETROIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Peter Marriott & Stella Crossley

Eucyclodes pieroides
young caterpillar
(Photo: courtesy of Nick Monaghan, Tewantin, Queensland)

The young Caterpillars of this species are brown. They look extraordinary, attaching pairs of bits of frass and other debris to the back of each segment.

Eucyclodes pieroides
later instar
(Photo: courtesy of Carol Buchanan, Bayldon, New South Wales)

The mature caterpillars develop a pair of flanges on the back of each segment, and resemble the ragged edge of a partially eaten leaf.

Eucyclodes pieroides
mature caterpillar
(Photo: courtesy of Ian McMillan, Imbil, Queensland)

The caterpillars eat leaves from a wide variety of plants, including :

  • Ka Tree ( Terminalia carolinensis, COMBRETACEAE ),
  • Avocado ( Persea americana, LAURACEAE ),
  • various Broad-Leaved Wattles ( Acacia, MIMOSACEAE ),
  • Riberry ( Syzygium leuhmannii, MYRTACEAE ),
  • Roses ( Rosa odorata, ROSACEAE ), and
  • Macadamia Nuts ( Macadamia integrifolia, PROTEACEAE ).

    Eucyclodes pieroides
    cocoon
    (Photo: courtesy of Craig Niminski, Darwin, Northern Territory)

    The caterpillar pupates in a silk cocoon spun between dead leaves.

    Eucyclodes pieroides
    male
    (Photo: Don Herbison-Evans, Bundaberg, Queensland)

    The adult males and female moths look very different. The male is green, with a white pattern.

    Eucyclodes pieroides
    female
    (Photo: by Peter Downes, Kempsey, New South Wales, courtesy of Steven Dodge)

    The female is green with brown borders.

    The moths have a wingspan of about 3 cms. They may be distinguished from some similar species as the hind wings have scalloped edges.

    Eucyclodes pieroides
    male, underside
    (Photo: courtesy of Jenny Thynne, Sunnybank, Queensland)

    The species is found in

  • Western Australia,
  • Northern Territory,
  • Queensland,
  • New South Wales.

    There has been probably some confusion with similar species in reports of its occurrence in

  • Victoria, and
  • Tasmania.

    Eucyclodes pieroides
    female, underside
    (Photo: courtesy Helen Morris, Nundah, Queensland)

    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia,
    Melbourne University Press, 1990, pls. 11.1, 27.2, 27.3, p. 373.

    Peter Hendry,
    At the light trap,
    Butterflies and Other Invertebrates Club,
    Newsletter Issue 45 (June 2007), pp. 18-22.

    Francis Walker,
    Geometrites,
    List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
    Part 22 (1861), pp. 580-581, No. 25.

    Paul Zborowski and Ted Edwards,
    A Guide to Australian Moths,
    CSIRO Publishing, 2007, p. 138.

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    (updated 6 November 2010, 18 October 2014, 19 June 2016, 10 July 2018, 17 November 2019, 25 May 2020, 9 May 20922)