Diatenes gerula (Guenée, 1852)
 (one synonym : Setida quadrisignata Walker, 1858)
CALPINAE,   EREBIDAE,   NOCTUOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Diatenes gerula
(Photo: copyright of Brett and Marie Smith, at Ellura Sanctuary, South Australia)

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

Diatenes gerula
(Photo: courtesy of the Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

Each wing also has a prominent dark spot at the middle of the margin. The moths have a wingspan of about 4 cms.

Diatenes gerula
male, drawing by Achille Guenée, Polydesmidae, Noctuélites,
in Boisduval & Guenée: Histoire naturelle des insectes,
Volume 6 (1852), Plate 18, fig. 5,
image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Smithsonian Libraries.

The species has been found in Australia in

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

    Diatenes gerula
    underside
    (Photo: copyright of Brett and Marie Smith, at Ellura Sanctuary, South Australia)

    Further reading :

    Achille Guenée,
    Polydesmidae, Noctuélites,
    in Boisduval & Guenée:
    Histoire naturelle des insectes; spécies général des lépidoptères,
    Volume 9, Part 6, Section 1 (1852), p. 443, No. 1317, and also Plate 18, fig. 5.

    Peter Marriott,
    Moths of Victoria - Part 8,
    Night Moths and Allies - NOCTUOIDEA(B)    ,
    Entomological Society of Victoria, 2017, pp. 14-15.

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    (written 17 September 2015, updated 12 December 2016, 18 August 2019, 4 February 2020, 16 August 2021)