The Pepper-and-Salt Geometer has a wingspan of about 1.75 inches. The forewing and hindwing of the typical light form are peppered with pale gray dots. The antemedial and postmedial lines are dark gray to black and wavy. The abdomen is light gray with the first segment having two squarish black marks. The melanic form is sooty black. The larva is a long, slender twig-mimic. It is green in the immature stage and gray when mature. The head is deeply cleft. It grows to approximately 2 inches.
This moth is probably fairly common in this area. One individual was photographed at Neale Woods in early June, 2016, and several were found in Fontenelle Forest in early August 2017. Its range in North America is from coast to coast. It inhabits forests, woodlots and parks. Adults fly from May to September.
The larvae eat the leaves of various trees and shrubs including alder, birch, cherry, dogwood, elm, hackberry, walnut and willow. The light forms are most common on trees with lichens which enables them to blend into the background and escape detection by birds. The melanic form became dominant in England where smoke from industry darkened trees where moths spend the day. The pupa overwinters in leaf litter.
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