The Wavy-lined Emerald Moth or Camouflaged Looper (Synchlora aerata) is a species of moth

Moth

A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...

 of the Geometridae family. It is found in most of North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

.

The wingspan

Wingspan

The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...

 is about 17 mm. Adults are green with scalloped or wavy white transverse lines.

The larvae feed on a wide variety of plants, including the flower heads of composite flowers and other flowering plants, as well as shrubs and trees. Recorded food plants include Aster

Aster

Aster may refer to:* Aster , a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae* Callistephus, another genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, commonly called Aster or Chinese Aster...

, Rudbeckia

Rudbeckia

Rudbeckia is a plant genus of 23 species in the family Asteraceae. The species are commonly called coneflowers and black-eyed-susans; all are native to North America and many species are cultivated in gardens for their showy yellow or gold flower heads.The species are herbaceous, mostly perennial...

, Liatris

Liatris

Liatris is a genus of ornamental plants in the Asteraceae family, native to North America, Mexico, and the Bahamas. These plants are used as a popular summer flowers for bouquets.They are perennials, surviving the winter in the form of corms....

, Solidago, Artemisia

Artemisia

- Botany :* Artemisia , a genus of plants including the sagebrush and wormwood- Geography :* Artemisia Geyser in Yellowstone National Park* Artemissia, Messinia, a Greek village west of Taygetus mountain in the Peloponnese...

, Achillea

Achillea

Achillea is a genus of about 85 flowering plants, in the family Asteraceae, commonly referred to as yarrow. They occur in Europe and temperate areas of Asia. A few grow in North America. These plants typically have frilly, hairy, aromatic leaves....

and Rubus

Rubus

Rubus is a large genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae. Raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries are common, widely distributed members of the genus. Most of these plants have woody stems with prickles like roses; spines, bristles, and gland-tipped hairs are...

species. They attach bits of the plant tissue on which they are feeding along their backs. The species overwinters as a partially grown larva.

Subspecies

• Synchlora aerata aerata (Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Arkansas, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, southern Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Maryland)
• Synchlora aerata albolineata Packard, 1873 (from Newfoundland to Alberta and south to Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York, Maine, New England, Massachusetts, northern Connecticut. It is also found in southern Manitoba)
• Synchlora aerata liquoraria Guenée, 1857 (from California, Arizona and New Mexico to British Columbia and Alberta. It is also found in South Dakota)