Anthela phoenicias Turner, 1902
 (one synonym : Anthela aspilota Turner, 1902)
ANTHELINAE,   ANTHELIDAE,   BOMBYCOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Anthela phoenicias
male
(Photo: courtesy of Graeme Cocks, Townsville, Queensland)

The male adult moths of this species are deep rusty-red. They have no pair of forewing spots, unlike most other Anthelids.

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

The wingspan of the male is about 3 cms. The females are a paler orangy-yellow and have more rounded wings. The wingspan of the female is about 4.5 cms.

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

The species occurs in

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

    Anthela phoenicias
    underside, male
    (Photo: courtesy of Graeme Cocks, Townsville, Queensland)

    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia, Melbourne University Press, 1990, fig. 40.1, p. 395.

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

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

    A. Jefferis Turner,
    New Australian Lepidoptera,
    Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia,
    Volume 26 (1902), p. 182.

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    (updated 22 February 2009, 15 July 2023)