Page 497 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Geometridae
DISTRIBUTION North America, from Saskatchewan east to Nova Scotia,
south to Florida, and west to Texas
HABITAT Deciduous and mixed woodlands
HOST PLANTS Ash (Fraxinus spp.), basswood (Tilia spp.), birch (Betula spp.),
elm (Ulmus spp.), poplar (Populus spp.), willow (Salix spp.),
maple (Acer spp.), and other trees
NOTE Twig-mimicking caterpillar
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but common

ADULT WINGSPAN
1½–2 ⁄ in (38–56 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
EUTRAPELA CLEMATARIA 2⅜ in (60 mm)
CURVED-TOOTHED
GEOMETER 495

(J. E. SMITH, 1797)

Curved-toothed Geometer caterpillars emerge from eggs that
are green when laid and turn red just before hatching. The
young larvae have a dark brown body, while the older larvae
have a greenish, tan, gray, or dark purplish-brown body, helping
them to blend in with their host tree. It takes about 40 days for

the caterpillar to develop. Adult moths y from March to August
in most of the range but can be found year-round in the south.
There are two generations a year.

While not widely known as a pest, Eutrapela clemataria has
been reported as extremely destructive in small areas of bogs

where cranberries are grown, the larvae eating ower buds and
blossoms and so adversely affecting production of the fruit.
The caterpillars of this species, like many others, su er from

ant predation, although a study examining E. clemataria and
other moth caterpillars showed that the risk of such predation
was less when the range of host plants was increased. The species
is the only member of the genus Eutrapela.

Actual size

The Curved-toothed Geometer caterpillar can be gray,
tan, greenish, or various shades of brown and is smooth
and twiglike. Like all geometrids, it has only two pairs of
prolegs. The spotted, bark-like pattern of the skin and
head, yellow spiracles bordered with black, and several
darker skin folds all contribute to the illusion of a twig
with leaf scars. The most noticeable skin folds are
located dorsally, between the rst and the second
thoracic segments and on the penultimate abdominal
segment. The legs are chocolate brown.