#xanthorhoe

[onenicebugperday]

Little Brown Moth #4, Western Montana. This guy is probably less reddish in reality than they appear- it was super smoky the day this was taken to the point it was tinting the sun bright red.

A carpet moth in the genus Xanthorhoe! There are a bunch of species in your area that look similar, but X. defensaria is the most common.

[drhoz]

#2694 - Xanthorhoe semifissata - Barred Pink Looper

Male.

First described by Francis Walker in 1862 as Cohemia semifissata. Since then it's been shuffled between Larentia, Helastia, and Xanthorhoe.

A Geometrid endemic to New Zealand, although much less common in the mountains in the west and south of the South Island. So finding it in Queenstown might be unusual. The caterpillar's hostplants include Nasturtium officinale as well as bittercresses (Cardamine sp.). Adult moths are found in shrubs at the edge of native forest.

Queenstown, Aotearoa New Zealand