Canadian Melanolophia Moth
Melanolophia canadaria
Insecta
COMMON
Stats
- Lifespan
- Up to 1 yr
- Size
- Medium
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Activity
- Nocturnal
- Social
- Solitary
- Biome
- Temperate forest
- Range
- North America
- Movement
- Flight
- Breeding
- Egg-laying
- Defense
- Camouflage
- Status
- Common
About
The Canadian Melanolophia Moth has mottled gray-brown wings that mimic tree bark, letting it vanish against a trunk while at rest. As a geometrid, its caterpillar is an inchworm that loops along twigs, gripping with front and back legs while leaving the middle of its body bare.
Life cycle
- 1.eggA tiny ribbed egg laid on the underside of a host-plant leaf, hatching within days.
- 2.caterpillarA voracious caterpillar feeds and molts through several instars, growing rapidly.
- 3.cocoonA silk cocoon spun in leaf litter or soil while the body remodels into a winged adult.
- 4.mothA 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
- Melanolophia
- Species
- Melanolophia canadaria