Page 506 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Geometridae
DISTRIBUTION Widespread in North America, from southern Canada to Georgia,
with highest concentrations in the Piedmont plateau region in
eastern United States

HABITAT Flowering elds and gardens
HOST PLANTS Aster spp., black-eyed susan (Rudbeckia spp.), snakeroot
(Ageratina spp.), goldenrod (Solidago spp.), and other
owering plants

NOTE Covert, camou aged caterpillar
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but not threatened

ADULT WINGSPAN
⁄ in (17 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
⁄ in (15 mm)
SYNCHLORA AERATA
CAMOUFLAGED LOOPER
504
(FABRICIUS, 1798)

The Camouflaged Looper caterpillar’s most identifiable
characteristic is its habit of attaching severed ower bits to its

body. Like a combat soldier who a xes leaves and branches to his

uniform, this tiny looper has mastered the art of “disappearing”
into its surroundings. While adorned in its owered regalia,

Actual size the caterpillar has been observed swaying back and forth,
as if to simulate part of the flower fluttering in the breeze.
The disguising cloak is shed after a molt, then quickly
replenished with a new array of plant material. The larvae feed

on ower heads.

Mature caterpillars are present from April to October, with
two generations in the northern range and up to four broods
possible in the south. A middle instar larva overwinters. In many
texts, Synchlora aerata is given the common name of Wavy-
lined Emerald in reference to the appearance of the green adult
moth, which is nocturnal and attracted to light. Several Synchlora
subspecies occur south of Pennsylvania.

The Camou aged Looper caterpillar has a
base color that is primarily brown and black,
with white wavy lines along the abdomen. The
small head is brown and mottled. The physical
appearance is variable, highly in uenced by the
host plant and the collection of ower material
the larva gathers and attaches to its body.