Anthela asterias (Meyrick, 1891)
 (one synonym : Darala uniformis Swinhoe, 1892)
ANTHELINAE,   ANTHELIDAE,   BOMBYCOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Ken Fairey & Stella Crossley

Anthela asterias
Photo: courtesy of Buck Richardson, from
Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art

These Caterpillars are brown and hairy, and feed on various species of

  • broadleaf Wattles ( Acacia, MIMOSACEAE ).

    Anthela asterias
    (Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

    The adult moths of this species are brown, with two white spots on each forewing often separated by a white hyphen, which may be nearly fused. Usually there is a single white spot on each hindwing. The moths have a wingspan of about 4 cms.

    The species is found over much of Australia, including

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

    Anthela asterias
    underside
    (Photo: courtesy of CSIRO/BIO Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

    Further reading :

    Peter Hendry,
    The Anthelidae,
    Metamorphosis Australia,
    Issue 50 (September 2008), pp. 27-31,
    Butterflies and Other Invertebrates Club.

    Edward Meyrick,
    Description of New Australian Lepidoptera,
    Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia,
    Volume 14 (1891), p. 192.

    Buck Richardson,
    Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art,
    LeapFrogOz, Kuranda, 2015, p. 11.

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    (updated 18 August 2012, 22 July 2019, 27 August 2021)