Southern Emerald
Southern Emerald
Synchlora frondaria
Insecta
UNCOMMON

Stats

Lifespan
A few months
Size
Small
Diet
Herbivore
Activity
Nocturnal
Social
Solitary
Biome
Tropical rainforest
Range
The Americas
Movement
Flight
Breeding
Egg-laying
Defense
Camouflage
Status
Uncommon

About

This small green moth lives among flowers across the Americas. It attaches living flower petals to its own body as a disguise to hide from predators.

Life cycle

  1. 1.
    egg
    A tiny ribbed egg laid on the underside of a host-plant leaf, hatching within days.
  2. 2.
    caterpillar
    A voracious caterpillar feeds and molts through several instars, growing rapidly.
  3. 3.
    cocoon
    A silk cocoon spun in leaf litter or soil while the body remodels into a winged adult.
  4. 4.
    moth
    A winged adult with feathery antennae and scaled wings, most active after dark.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Lepidoptera
Family
Geometridae
Genus
Synchlora
Species
Synchlora frondaria