Declana floccosa
Species of moth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Declana floccosa, the forest semilooper or manuka moth is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is endemic to New Zealand.[1] It was first described by Francis Walker in 1863 using specimens obtained from Colonel Bolton.[2]
| Declana floccosa | |
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| Male specimen | |
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| Female specimen | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Geometridae |
| Genus: | Declana |
| Species: | D. floccosa |
| Binomial name | |
| Declana floccosa | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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The wingspan of this species is 27–35 mm and is extremely variable in colour and patterning.[3][4][5]
The larvae feed on a wide range of native and exotic broad-leaved and coniferous shrubs and trees.[6] Exotic hosts include Pinus radiata and other Pinus species, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Larix and Eucalyptus.[3] Native hosts include Muehlenbeckia australis.[7]
Adults are attracted to light and have been collected via a mercury vapour light trap.[8]
Population decline and recovery
A longitudinal study from 1974 to 2016 indicated the population of this moth declined sharply in the study area in the mid-1980s but began to recover in the late 1990s.[5] It has been hypothesised that the arrival of Vespula vulgaris in New Zealand might be the cause of the population decline.[5] It was also hypothesised that the recovery in population may have been brought about as a result of the extended emergence period of this moth which gave those moths emerging later in the season the ability to avoid predation by wasps.[5]
