Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Geometridae
Genus: Xanthorhoe
Species: X. semifissata
Binomial name: Xanthorhoe semifissata
Common name: Barred Pink Carpet. (Due to its carpet-like wing patterns)
Xanthorhoe semifissata is small to a medium-sized moth with a wingspan 25–35 mm. It is native to New Zealand and is found in the South and the lower North Island usually between August and February.
The larval foods for this moth are low growing herbaceous plants including Nasturtium officinale (watercress) and Cardamine (bittercress). The eggs are a pale green and hemispherical in shape. The caterpillar is dark brown on its upper side and light brown below, when fully grown it is approximately 25mm long.
Male moth.
Male moth.
Female moth.
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
