Epicopistis pleurospila Turner, 1933
 CARPOSINIDAE,   COPROMORPHOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Epicopistis pleurospila
(Photo: © Fera Science Ltd.)

The caterpillar of this species is pink, with several brown warts on each segment. The head is orange, and there are dark brown chitinous areas on the prothorax and on the last segment.

Epicopistis pleurospila
close-up of head and thorax
(Photo: © Fera Science Ltd.)

The caterpillars have been found feeding on the fruits of

  • Rose Apple (Syzygium jambos, MYRTACEAE).

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

    The adult moth has pale brown forewings, each with grey and yellow markings which fade to brown in museum specimens. The hindwings are plain pale grey. The wings all have a slightly recurved margins, and the forewings each have a slight cusp on their hind margins. The wingspan is about 2 cms.

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

    The species has been found in

  • India, and
  • New Guinea,

    as well as in Australia in

  • Queensland, and
  • New South Wales.

    Further reading :

    A. Jefferis Turner,
    New Australian Lepidoptera,
    Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia,
    Volume 57 (1933), p. 180.

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    (written 9 February 2013, updated 29 July 2019, 7 June 2021)