Xanthorhoe xerodes Meyrick, 1891
Xerodes Carpet
 XANTHORHOINI,   LARENTIINAE,   GEOMETRIDAE,   GEOMETROIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Xanthorhoe xerodes
(Photo: courtesy of Peter Marriott, Moths of Victoria: Part 3)

The adult moth of this species has a complex zigzag fawn or grey pattern on the wings, including a broad darker band with wiggly edges across each forewing. Each forewing also has a subterminal arc of dark dashes which vary in length from apex to tornus. The wingspan is about 2 cms.

Xanthorhoe xerodes
(Photo: courtesy of Moths of Victoria: Part 3)

The species has been found in

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

    There has been a lot of difficulty identifying specimens purported to be of this species. The moth is very similar to that of Horisme mortuata and Eucymatoge scotodes. It is possible that some of the identifications are mistaken.

    Further reading:

    Peter Marriott,
    Moths of Victoria: Part 3,
    Waves & Carpets - GEOMETROIDEA (C)    ,
    Entomological Society of Victoria, 2011, pp. 24-25.

    Edward Meyrick,
    Revision of Australian Lepidoptera IV,
    Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales,
    Series 2, Volume 5, Part 4 (1890), pp. 870-871, No. 84.

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    (written 2 September 2013, updated 6 March 2026)