Anthela oressarcha Turner, 1921
Alpine Anthelid
ANTHELINAE,   ANTHELIDAE,   BOMBYCOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

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

These are alpine caterpillars, being found only in the Kosciusko National Park in Australia. For food, they accepted:

  • various Grasses ( POACEAE ).

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

    The adult moths are fawn with patterns of dark markings. The male is the smaller, having a wingspan of about 6 cms. The female has a span of about 7 cms.

    The adults of Anthela oressarcha are superficially similar to those of Anthela basigera, Anthela denticulata, and Anthela euryphrica, but the four species occur in four different areas of the country:

  • Anthela basigera occurs mainly in South Australia,
  • Anthela denticulata occurs mainly in southern Victoria,
  • Anthela euryphrica occurs mainly in central New South Wales, and
  • Anthela oressarcha occurs the mountain areas of southern New South Wales.


    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common, Moths of Australia,
    Melbourne University Press, 1990, pl. 13.6, p. 395.

    Peter Marriott,
    Moths of Victoria - Part 1,
    Silk Moths and Allies - BOMBYCOIDEA
    ,
    Entomological Society of Victoria, 2008, pp. 20-21.

    A. Jefferis Turner,
    Revision of Australian Lepidoptera — Hypsidae, Anthelidae,
    Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales,
    Volume 46 (1921), pp. 177-178, No. 25.


    previous
    back
    caterpillar
    Australian
    Australian Butterflies
    butterflies
    Australian
    home
    Lepidoptera
    Australian
    Australian Moths
    moths
    next
    next
    caterpillar

    (updated 24 February 2009, 14 July 2023)