Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Noctuidae
Genus: Feredayia
Species: F. graminosa
Binomial name: Feredayia graminosa
Synonym: Erana graminosa
Common name: Mahoe Stripper moth caterpillar, Green Mahoe moth caterpillar,
Feredayia graminosa larvae (caterpillar) are about 25 mm long and are bright green with spots of white, black and pale yellow/orange. The colour after the last moult is more variable and the body green of the larva is much darker. They feed on the leaves of the native Mahoe tree (Melicytus ramiflorus) which they can strip.
Pupation occurs in a cocoon in the soil.
The moth The moth's photos are below the caterpillar's photos.
Feredayia graminosa is a common, native moth with a forewing length of 16- 19 mm. It is found throughout New Zealand. Moths are usually on the wing from September to January. They rest during the day and can be found on lichen covered tree trunks. They fly at night visiting flowers. They are attracted to light.
Their wing pattern and the colour is a moss-like green, this camouflages them during the day. The male moths have long tufted, yellowish, vanilla scented scales on the undersides of each forewing and hindwings. It is presumed the wings help fan scent from the scales over female moths during courtship.
Photo of Feredayia graminosa caterpillar.
The moth.
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
