Ophiusa discriminans (Walker, 1858)
(one synonym : Anua intacta Hampson, 1913)
CALPINAE,   EREBIDAE,   NOCTUOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Ophiusa discriminans
Photo: courtesy of Buck Richardson, from
Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art

The Caterpillars of this species are variegated slender loopers, with the front two pairs of forelegs reduced. The caterpillars have two dark spots on the back of the joint between the first and second abdominal segments. The caterpillars have been found feeding on

  • Paperbarks ( Melaleuca species, MYRTACEAE ).

    The caterpillars pupate in cocoon spun between joined leaves of the foodplant.


    (Photo: courtesy of Graeme Cocks, Townsville, Queensland)

    The adult moths are basically dark orange. There is a pale mark at the tornus and a dark mark at the tip of each forewing. An oval shape near the middle of each wing, is black in the females and pale in the males. The hindwings are a paler orange colour, the male having a dark brown submarginal arc. The wingspan is about 6 cms.


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

    The adult moths are a pest on fruit, piercing the skin to suck juice.

    Ophiusa discriminans
    male, drawing by George Francis Hampson, listed as Anua intacta
    ,
    Catalogue of Lepidoptera Phalænæ in the British Museum,
    Noctuidæ, Volume XII (1913), Plate CCXIV, figure 5,
    image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Ernst Mayr Library, Harvard University.

    The species is found in:

  • Brunei,
  • New Caledonia,
  • New Guinea (listed as Anua sublutea)
  • Sri Lanka,
  • Thailand,

    and also in Australia in:

  • Northern Territory, and
  • Queensland.

    Ophiusa discriminans
    female, drawing by George Francis Hampson, listed as sublutea
    ,
    Catalogue of Lepidoptera Phalænæ in the British Museum,
    Noctuidæ, Volume XII (1913), Plate CCXIV, figure 12,
    image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Ernst Mayr Library, Harvard University.


    Further reading :

    Buck Richardson,
    Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art,
    LeapFrogOz, Kuranda, 2015, p. 145.

    Francis Walker,
    Noctuidae,
    List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
    Part 14 (1858), p. 1358, No. 10.


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    (updated 14 August 2012)