Ascotis selenaria
Ascotis selenaria, the giant looper, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775.
Subspecies
Ascotis selenaria dianaria Ascotis selenaria selenaria Ascotis selenaria artemis Staudinger, 1897Ascotis selenaria cretacea Ascotis selenaria reciprocaria- ''Ascotis selenaria imparata''
Description
Ascotis selenaria has a wingspan of 38–48 mm. The front wings are characterized by a yellowish-white ground color, with numerous dark grey markings and two brownish sharply toothed transverse lines. The front and rear wings show distinctive moon shaped spots. The color and pattern of the caterpillars vary from green to yellow/green or brown resembling twigs. They have a characteristic bulbous swelling on the thorax and move with a looping motion as usual in measuring worms.The giant looper has two generations per year in southern Europe, flying from April to May and from July to August. However, further North it's possible that they only fly in one generation. They are attracted to light. The caterpillars can be found from September to October and in June and July. If only one generation is present because of climate conditions, the moths fly from late June to early August, and the caterpillars can be encountered from August to September. The moths are nocturnal.
The caterpillars reach a length up to 55 millimeters. They are polyphagous, feeding mainly on field wormwood, Sambucus sp., rose, blackberry, broom, Taraxacum sp., birch, Arbutus sp., Pimpinella sp., clover, cypress spurge, acacia, Mimosa dealbata, Salvia sp. and Salix glabra. In India, the pest has been reported to infest on prosopis, Delonix regia and sal. A nucleopolyhedrovirus suppressing population of Ascotis seleneria has been reported in India. In many areas they are considered a pest causing serious damages to agriculture. They pupate and overwinter in the soil.