Rose Anthelid (previously known as Ocneria heliaspis) ANTHELINAE, ANTHELIDAE, BOMBYCOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
(Photo courtesy of Ken Harris,
Mount Buffalo, Victoria)
This is a hairy Caterpillar with a pair of dorsal white spots, and black or red hair pencils on its thorax, and a broad black dorsal stripe. The hairs on the head and tail are pink.
It is thought to feed on the foliage of various trees, such as:
The caterpillar grows to a length of 5 cms, and pupates in a cocoon in the foodplant foliage.
The adult moths are dimorphic. The male is brown with deep orange hindwings, and has a wingspan of about 6 cms.
The female is paler and may not be rosy at all. The female has a wingspan of about 7 cms.
The species is found in:
Further reading :
Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia,
Melbourne University Press, 1990, fig 38.13, pl. 13.9, p. 396.
Pat and Mike Coupar,
Flying Colours,
New South Wales University Press, Sydney 1992, p. 29.
Peter Hendry,
The Anthelidae,
Butterflies and Other Invertebrates Club,
Metamorphosis Australia,
Issue 50 (September 2008), pp. 27-31.
R. P. Gustaaf Hulstaert,
Lepidoptera Heterocera. Fam. Anthelidae,
Genera Insectorum,
Volume 191 (1928), p. 9, and also
Plate 1, fig 2.
Peter Marriott,
Moths of Victoria - Part 1,
Silk Moths and Allies - BOMBYCOIDEA,
Entomological Society of Victoria, 2008, pp. 20-21.
Edward Meyrick,
Descriptions of Australian Lepidoptera,
Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia,
Volume 14 (1891), p. 192.
caterpillar | butterflies | Lepidoptera | moths | caterpillar |
(updated 26 April 2013, 7 July 2024)