Athetis reclusa (Walker, 1862)
 (one synonym : Elydna sparna Wileman & West, 1929)
ACRONICTINAE,   NOCTUIDAE,   NOCTUOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Athetis reclusa
(Photo: courtesy of Ian McMillan, Imbil, Queensland)

The caterpillars of this species have been found feeding on the leaves of:

  • Peanuts ( Arachis hypogaea, FABACEAE ).

    Athetis reclusa
    (Photo: courtesy of Graeme Cocks, Townsville, Queensland)

    The adult moth of this species has speckled pale brown forewings each with several faint wiggly dark transverse lines, and a dark brown smudge near the middle containing a black or a white spot. The hindwings are off-white with dark veins. The wingspan is about 2.5 cms.

    The species has been found in :

  • Borneo,
  • Fiji,

    as well as in Australia in:

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

    Athetis reclusa
    (Photo: courtesy of CSIRO/BIO Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

    Further reading :

    Francis Walker,
    Catalogue of the Heterocerous Lepidopterous Insects collected at Sarawak, in Borneo, by Mr. A. R. Wallace, with Descriptions of New Species,
    Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,
    Volume 6 (1862), p. 185, No. 237.

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    (updated 1 July 2010, 7 February 2018, 3 May 2019, 23 May 2021)