Lopper Moth - Hypodoxa muscosaria

Family Geometridae

This page contains information about Common Lopper Moths that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.


Wingspan 40mm

The moths have camouflaged wing patterns. Imagine if they rest on tree bark, they are hardly been seen. These patterns are wavy lines extend across both fore and hind wings. These moths rest with a standard posture, holding wings outspread and tightly pressed against the surface on which they are sitting. This eliminates the shadow as well as the wings outline for a better camouflaged posture.



The above pictures were taken in mid-winter, the moths rested on our window glass in a cool night. Their colour vary from grey to brown.



The Bottom view is quite different from the top view. There are the dark patterns along the wings edges and yellow near the body. Their caterpillar is green in colour resemble plants stem.

The adult moths of this species are varied in their colours, from an light grey, pale brown to deep green.



We found that there are dark brown moths and light brown moths with the slightly different patterns in our backyard. We think they could be the same Hypodoxa muscosaria species, but not so sure.