Archephanes zalosema

Archephanes zalosema
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Geometridae
Subfamily:	Ennominae
Tribe:	Nacophorini
Genus:	Archephanes
Species:	A. zalosema
Binomial name
Archephanes zalosema Turner, 1926

Archephanes zalosema is a medium-sized moth in the family Geometridae that is native to Australia. Its wings are green and marbeled with black in a way that makes them look like lichen. It has a wingspan of 4 centimeters. It has back wings, hidden when resting, that have a pale brown color. Underneath the wings is a pale brown color. The antennae of the Archephanes zalosema are not branched. Due to sexual dimorphism the male is smaller than the female.

Habitat

The Archephanes zalosema moth lives in sub-alpine areas where the mountain pepper lives such as tasmania. It does this because the larva eats mountain pepper.

Life cycle

The eggs are laid in spring on the underside of the mountain pepper leaves. Approximately 60 eggs are lain. When the larva hatches it eats the leaves around it. The larva are colored either green with pink stripes or, red with pink and green stripes. These colors help the larva camouflage on the leaf of the mountain pepper. When it becomes an adult it becomes nocturnal and flies in summer and autumn.^[1]

References

1. bie.ala.org.au