Black Looper

Black Looper

Hyposidra talaca

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Daintree National Park

In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%

30 Verified sightings at Daintree National Park From 2019 to 2026
55 In all 3 parks
February Best month
☀️🌙 Day & Night When it's spotted

About the Black Looper

Hyposidra talaca, the black looper or black inch worm, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1860. It is found from India to Indochina, Sundaland, Sulawesi, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, the Solomon Islands, Thailand, Taiwan, New Guinea and Australia, where it has been recorded from Queensland. It is a major defoliating pest in tea plantations.

The wingspan is about 30 mm. Female with outer margin of hindwings hardly crenulate. Male with outer margin of neither wing excised. Antennae pectinated. Hindwings with outer margin angled at vein 4. Body dark olive fuscous, more or less irrorated and suffused with grey. Both wings faint traces of medial and crenulate postmedial lines. The cilia dark. Forewings with traces of antemedial line and more or less distinct sub-apical patch in male. Underside with crenulate postmedial line to both wings.

Larva is a looper, with body pinkish olive green, irrorated with black, and with dark patches on 4th and 6th somites. Later instars are uniform brown. The larvae feed on the foliage of a wide range of plants, including Anacardium, Bombax, Terminalia, Chromolaena, Gynura, Mikania, Cupressus... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kanha National Park 🇮🇳 India
~20%
2 Daintree National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
3 Taroko National Park 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Tuen Mun 🇨🇳 China
~10%
2 Hong Kong 🇨🇳 China
~10%
3 Pune 🇮🇳 India
~10%
4 Kochi 🇮🇳 India
~10%
5 Chennai 🇮🇳 India
~10%
6 Bengaluru 🇮🇳 India
~10%
7 Mumbai 🇮🇳 India
~10%
8 Taipei 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~10%
9 Hyderabad 🇮🇳 India
~10%
10 Guangzhou 🇨🇳 China
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Black Looper in Daintree National Park?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Black Looper sighting in Daintree National Park on a given day, based on 30 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 90th most-seen of the 856 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Black Looper in Daintree National Park?

February, April–June, August, October and December

In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Black Looper in Daintree National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January, the lowest month.

What time of day is best to see a Black Looper?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black Looper sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.

Is Daintree National Park the best place to see a Black Looper?

Among the best

Of the 3 parks where we can rate Black Looper sightings, Daintree National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Kanha National Park (India, about 20%).

Which relatives of the Black Looper live in Daintree National Park?

Same family: Geometridae

The closest relatives of the Black Looper that you can see in Daintree National Park (family Geometridae, Geometer Moths) are Four O'clock Moth (about 50%), Cleora repetita (about 20%) and Scopula parvimacula (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Black Looper sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Black Looper is recorded against all the insects logged in Daintree National Park (30 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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