Dirce aesiodora Turner, 1922
Pencil Pine Moth
 ARCHIEARINAE,   GEOMETRIDAE,   GEOMETROIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Cathy Byrne & Stella Crossley


(Photo: copyright Catherine J. Young)

The Caterpillars of this species are reddish brown, with a skin apparently made of platelets. Each segment has three overlapping platelets: one on each side, and one on the back. These platelets resemble the overlapping leaf scales of its foodplant. The caterpillars feed on the dwindling population of :

  • Pencil Pine ( Athrotaxis cupressoides, CUPRESSACEAE ),

    in the mountain rainforests of Tasmania.


    (Photo: copyright Catherine J. Young)

    The adult moths are very handsome, with a striking black and grey pattern on the forewings, and orange hindwings with a black border. The wingspan is about 3 cms.


    (Photo: courtesy of Peter B. McQuillan, University of Tasmania)

    Further reading :

    A. Jefferis Turner,
    Australian Lepidoptera of the group Geometrites,
    Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia,
    Volume 46 (1922), pp. 291-292.

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    (updated 30 November 2011, 18 June 2021, 3 April 2022)