Australian CALPINAE

CALPINAE in Australia
Underwings and Fruit Sucking Moths
including OPHIDERINAE & PANGRAPTINAE
EREBIDAE, NOCTUOIDEA

Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

CALPINAE

caterpillars

CALPINAE

pupae

CALPINAE

moths

CALPINAE

undersides

CALPINAE

forewings

The Caterpillars of CALPINAE are usually smooth, lacking obvious hairs. Many have one or more pairs of prolegs missing, and so move in a looping fashion.

Some of the adult moths of CALPINAE have brightly coloured hind wings which are normally covered (the "underwings"). The CALPINAE moths also include a number pests which puncture fruit in order to feed on the juice.

CALPINAE is a controversial family, and different taxonomists include differing genera within it. Nielsen et al. included this group of species in the subfamily CATOCALINAE, while other taxonomists treat versions of it as a subfamily of EREBIDAE. Here mainly for computational convenience we include a version of it as a subfamily of the EREBIDAE.

The 25 named Australian species in CALPINAE are:

Calyptra minuticornis : Vampire Moth