Parapoynx polydectalis (Walker, 1859)
 (previously known as Cataclysta polydectalis)
ACENTROPINAE,   CRAMBIDAE,   PYRALOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Bart Hacobian & Stella Crossley

Parapoynx polydectalis
(Photo: courtesy of Buck Richardson, Kuranda, Queensland)

Like most members of the subfamily ACENTROPINAE, these Caterpillers are probably aquatic, feeding on water weeds.


(Photo: courtesy of Buck Richardson, Kuranda, Queensland)

The wings of the adult of this species have a striking pattern of brown and white. The moth has a wingspan of about 2 cms.

Parapoynx polydectalis
(Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Collection, Chau Chak Wing Museum, University of Sydney)

The species has been found in

  • New Guinea,

    and is widespread in Australia, including:

  • Western Australia,
  • Northern Territory,
  • Queensland,
  • New South Wales, and
  • Victoria.

    Further reading :

    Peter Hendry,
    The Return of the Crambidae,
    Butterflies and Other Invertebrates Club,
    Metamorphosis Australia,
    Issue 54 (September 2009), pp. 23-25.

    Graham McDonald,
    Moths of Kutini-Payamu (Iron Range) National Park,
    Butterflies and Other Invertebrates Club,
    Metamorphosis Australia,
    Issue 76 (March 2015), p. 10, fig. 5.

    Buck Richardson,
    Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art,
    LeapFrogOz, Kuranda, 2015, p. 27.

    Francis Walker,
    Catalogue of Lepidoptera Heterocera. Pyralides,
    List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
    Part 17 (1859), pp. 451-452, No. 29.

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    (updated 26 February 2011, 3 March 2014, 14 March 2015, 4 July 2020, 21 March 2022)