| Orange-grounded Delicate (previously known as Asthena anthodes) ASTHENINI, LARENTIINAE, GEOMETRIDAE, GEOMETROIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
(Photo: courtesy of
David Akers,
Won Wron, Victoria)
|
| Orange-grounded Delicate (previously known as Asthena anthodes) ASTHENINI, LARENTIINAE, GEOMETRIDAE, GEOMETROIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
(Photo: courtesy of
David Akers,
Won Wron, Victoria)
The caterpillar of this species is green with a dark line along the back, and a white line along each side above the legs.
The caterpillar is missing the front three pairs of prolegs, so walks in a looper fashion.
The caterpillar is thought to feed on the leaves of
The caterpillar pupates amongst the ground debris.
The adult moth is brown with a speckled pattern of darker brown, sometimes with vague wavy yellowish bands, and/or a dark dot near the middle, or a dark spot near the hind-margin of the forewings. The wingspan is about 2.5 cms.
The species has been found over much of southern Australia, including:
Further reading:
Peter B. McQuillan,
An overview of the Tasmanian geometrid moth fauna (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) and its conservation status,
Journal of Insect Conservation,
Volume 8, Numbers 2-3, June 2004, pp. 209-220.
Peter Marriott,
Moths of Victoria: Part 3,
Waves & Carpets - GEOMETROIDEA (C),
Entomological Society of Victoria,
2011, pp. 32-33.
Edward Meyrick,
Revision of Australian Lepidoptera V,
Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales,
Series 2, Volume 5, Part 4 (1890), pp. 816-817, No. 26.
Dayong Xue and Malcolm J. Scoble,
A review of the genera associated with the tribe Asthenini (Lepidoptera: Geometridae: Larentiinae),
Bulletin of The Natural History Museum. Entomology Series,
Volume 71, 2002, pp. 77-133.
 caterpillar |  butterflies |  Lepidoptera |  moths |  caterpillar |
(updated 13 September 2013, 22 November 2025)