Amelora acromegala McQuillan, 1996 DIPTYCHINI,   ENNOMINAE,   GEOMETRIDAE,   GEOMETROIDEA

Don Herbison-Evans, (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Cathy Byrne & Stella Crossley

early instar, magnified
(Photo: copyright Cathy Byrne)

These Caterpillars are initially off-white with reddish brown markings and sparse stiff translucent hairs.

later instar
(Photo: copyright Cathy Byrne)

Later they develop a complex pattern of white and light and dark brown, and the hairs become black. The caterpillars feed on a variety of low-growing dicotyledonous herbs, and grow to a length of about 1 cm.

female
(Photo: copyright Cathy Byrne)

The adult moths are brown with some dark zizag lines, and sometimes with orange veins. The moths have a wingspan of about 4 cms.

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

The eggs are laid loosely attached to the substrate, and are smooth and oval. Their diameter is about 0.75 mm. Initially they are pale yellowish green, later becoming pale brown with maroon blotches as hatching approaches.

eggs, magnified
(Photo: copyright Cathy Byrne)

The species is found in :

Tasmania in the highlands at an altitude range of 600-1230 metres.

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Further reading :

Peter B. McQuillan,
The Tasmanian Geometrid Moths Associated with the Genus Amelora auctorum (Lepidoptera : Geometridae : Ennomina),
Invertebrate Taxonomy,
Volume 10, Issue 3, 1996, pp. 433-506.

Peter B. McQuillan,
An overview of the Tasmanian geometrid moth fauna (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) and its conservation status,
Journal of Insect Conservation,
Volume 8 (2004), Parts 2-3, pp. 209-220.

Catherine J. Young,
Characterisation of the Australian Nacophorini and a Phylogeny for the Geometridae from Molecular and Morphological Data,
Ph.D. thesis, University of Tasmania, 2003.

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(updated 8 May 2010, 30 March 2023)