Omnivorous Looper (Sabulodes aegrotata)
Geometridae omnivore of plants 

Photography by Max E. Badgley (1922-2006)

Sabulodes aegrotata, larva (top), and adult moth (bottom)
Photo © Max E. Badgley, published with permission from the Max E. Badgley Estate, with special thanks to the University of California, Riverside, who kindly supplied this image from the UCR Chalcidoidea collection.

This moth belongs to the Family Geometridae, named for the fact that its members, when in the larval stage, lack appendages in the middle portion of the body, and thus move by (1) stretching the anterior body forward where they secure their anterior appendages, then (2) drawing the posterior body forward to secure their posterior appendages adjacent to those of the anterior body, and thereby forcing the body's midsection upward, forming a loop. Thus they "inch" along, as their family name, derived from the Greek γεωμετρία, suggests: the noun γεω, pronounced, in English, geo, meaning "earth", and the infinitive verb μετρία, pronounced metria, meaning "to measure".

Text compiled and edited by J.Cates,  curator

Badgley Photography Index

Bugsinthenews