Diatenes chalybescens Guenée, 1852
 CALPINAE,   EREBIDAE,   NOCTUOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Diatenes chalybescens
(Photo: courtesy of CSIRO/BIO Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

The adult moths of this species are pale brown with a complex pattern of darker brown and black lines on the wings.

Diatenes chalybescens
(Photo: courtesy of CSIRO/BIO Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

Each forewing also has a prominent elliptical pale centred dark spot near the middle of the margin. The moths have a wingspan of about 4 cms.

The species has been found in Australia in

  • Western Australia,
  • Northern Territory, and
  • Queensland.

    Diatenes chalybescens
    underside
    (Photo: courtesy of Axel Hausmann, SNSB, Zoologische Staatssammlung Muenchen)

    Further reading :

    Achille Guenée,
    Polydesmidae, Noctuélites,
    in Boisduval & Guenée:
    Histoire naturelle des insectes; spécies général des lépidoptères,
    Volume 9, Part 6, Section 1 (1852), pp. 443-444, No. 1319.

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    (written 28 February 2020, updated 20 August 2021)