Thallarcha trissomochla Turner, 1940
Yellow Crossed Footman
 LITHOSIINI,   ARCTIINAE,   EREBIDAE,   NOCTUOIDEA
  
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Thallarcha trissomochla
(Photo: courtesy of Steve Williams, Moths of Victoria: Part 2)

This caterpillar is pale green with black and white marks along the back, and rows of large black and small yellow verrucae with sparse short black bristles. The head is black and heart-shaped. The caterpillars appear to feed on primitive plants growing on rocks, such as

  • Algae,
  • Lichen, and
  • Moss.

    Thallarcha trissomochla
    (Photo: courtesy of Donald Hobern, Aranda, Australian Capital Territory)

    The adult moths of this species have white or yellow forewings with four lumpy black bands. The hindwings are yellow, each with a black wingtip. The abdomen is yellow with a black mark on the back of each segment. The wingspan is about 2 cms.

    Thallarcha trissomochla
    (Photo: courtesy of Peter Marriott, Moths of Victoria - Part 2)

    The species has been found in :

  • Queensland,
  • New South Wales,
  • Australian Capital Territory, and
  • Victoria, and
  • South Australia.

    Thallarcha trissomochla
    underside
    (Photo: courtesy of S. Williams, Moths of Victoria - Part 2)

    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia,
    Melbourne University Press, 1990, pl. 31.5, p. 437.

    Peter Marriott,
    Moths of Victoria - Part 2,
    Tiger Moths and Allies - NOCTUOIDEA (A)    ,
    Entomological Society of Victoria, 2009, pp. 24-25.

    A. Jefferis Turner,
    A revision of the Australian Arctiidae (Lepidoptera),
    Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland,
    Volume 51 (1940), p. 93, No. 121.

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    (updated 11 May 2013, 16 May 2018)