Scopula rubraria

Scopula rubraria, also called a plantain moth, is a species of moth of the family Geometridae. It is native to Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand.

Taxonomy

This species was first described by Edward Doubleday in 1843 and originally named Ptychopoda rubraria.

Description

It has straw coloured wings with zigzag markings. The wingspan is about.

Distribution

It is found throughout New Zealand and Australia, in the Kermadec Islands, Norfolk Island and New Caledonia.

Host species

The caterpillars feed on Plantago lanceolata, and have also been raised on Medicago sativa and the New Zealand endemic plantain Plantago spathulata. With the increased planting of narrow-leaved plantain as a forage plant in New Zealand, it has become a nuisance for farmers, along with Epyaxa rosearia, another New Zealand geometrid moth whose caterpillars feed on plantain.