#1278-1287 - More Moffs
#1278 - Iropoca rotundata - Irapoca Moth
Seen by Jeff Pows, over on the East Coast. Another moth, this time in the Lymantriidae, in which the female is plump, fluffy, and wingless. The males are pretty fluffy as well, but have fully developed wings.
The caterpillars have been found on a variety of gum trees.
#1279 - Papilio anactus - Dainty Swallowtail
AKA dingy swallowtail or small citrus butterfly
Spotted by Samantha Smith in Rainbow, Victoria. The Dainty Swallowtail is a Papilionid Butterfly that’s done quite well for itself, thank you, once Europeans started planting lemons and oranges and other citrus trees everywhere. Australia has plenty of native citrus, it’s true, but it took advantage of us to spread it’s range from the East Coast into South Australia. On the other hand, that takes it well outside the range of the poisonous male Cressida cressida butterflies that it mimics for protection.
#1280 - Psalidostetha banksiae - Banksia Moth
Found by Terry Dunham at Ongerup 410 kilometres south-east of Perth.
This rather fearsome caterpillar feeds on Banksias and other Proteaceae, and is found across most of Australia. The adult males, about 6cm in wingspan, also have a noteworthy threat display - they raise their wings up vertically, and bend the abdomen down to display yellow and black rings around the abdomen.
#1281 - Comocrus behri - Mistletoe Moth
Seen by Tim Patterson, at Jordan Springs, a suburb on the outskirts of Sydney.
As the common name suggests, these caterpillars eat only Mistletoe, so this one had either fallen off the host tree or was off looking for a place to pupate. I don’t know if mistletoe leaves are poisonous, but neither the caterpillar nor adult are exactly hiding themselves with that colour scheme, so the odds are that they’re advertising something.
If disturbed, they rear up like the Banksia Moth caterpillar I posted previously.
The adults are in the Agaristinae or Day-flying Moth subfamily of the Noctuids, and like most in the sub-family, are boldly marked with black and white wings. They’re seen across most of the mainland.
#1282 - Eurema herla - Pink Grass Yellow
AKA Macleay’s Grass Yellow. Photo by Gian Luca Carla, in the Manning Gorge in the Kimberleys.
A small and pretty Pierid found across a lot of eastern and northern Australia, where the caterpillars feast on Fish-bone Cassia. The upper surface of the wings is a bright yellow, with black tips.
#1283 - Catopsilia pomona - Lemon Migrant
AKA Yellow Migrant, but for obvious reasons that name is somewhat on-the-nose now.
Photographed in Rockhampton, QLD, by Theresa Brogan.
Another Pierid that feeds on Cassia and related genera. Highly migratory, at least in Australia, flying south for summer and back again as the weather cools. , Found across the tropical and subtropical parts on Australia and Asia.
It also has two colour forms, like a number of other Australian Pierids. The dark form is yellowish above and below, and female butterflies have a narrow brown border on outer edges of the upper wing surface. The pale form is cream or white, and females have two silver spots surrounded by pink on the underside on her hindwings. I’m not actually sure which sex this one is, which I’ll admit makes my description a little unhelpful. Caterpillars are green with creamy white lines alone each side.
The Coffs Harbour Butterfly House, whose Australian Lepidoptera site I use for most of my moth and butterfly Ids, breeds this species for release at weddings.
#1384 - Endoxyla sp - Cossid Caterpillar
Found by Lynette Meertens, in Goulburn, on the South Tablelands of New South Wales.
Endoxyla caterpillars live in tunnels they bore into wood, or in underground tunnels and feed on the sap, for up to three years before emerging as very large moths that don’t feed at all. One of the species, E. leucomochla, is the famous Witchetty Grub of native cuisine.
#1285 - Euproctis sp.
A fluffy and adorable Lymantriid moth, about 5cm in wingspan, found by Mark Golding.
Given the locality - Kununurra at near the border of Western Australia and the Northern Territory, and the pale bands on the wings, my best guess is E. lucifuga. It’s described as a rainforest species at Australian Lepidoptera, but the climate and vegetation around Kununurra is tropical savannah, with a violent and humid wet season. I don’t have any information on the diet of E. lucifuga, but others in the genus seem pretty indiscriminate.
#1286 - Gastrophora henricaria - Beautiful Leaf Moth
AKA Fallen-bark Looper
Seen by Merri Golding, on NSW’s Southern Tablelands.
A large Oenochromine Geometrid moth, with female up to 8 cm in wingspan, and males slightly smaller. Native to the SE corner of Australia, where the caterpillars feed on various Eucalypts and Box Brushes.
The sexes are similarly marked, although the males have a dark line across the forewing. The undersides have a vivid purple and yellow warning flash.
#1286 - Proteuxoa atrisquamata
AKA Caradrina atrisquamata.
Found by Julie Freestone, in a pile of bricks in their yard at Wunghnu, Northern Victoria. Probably ready to pupate.
These Noctuids are related to the Armyworms in the Spodoptera genus, and both genera include a lot of agricultural pests. This particular species is found in Victoria and South Australia.
#1287 - Endoxlya secta
AKA Xyleutes diaplecta
Spotted by Stephen Timms at Mt Coot-tha, near Brisbane. One of the smaller Cossid Moths, and native to Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria.