Chezala privatella (Walker, 1864)
(one synonym is Cryptolechia latiorella Walker, 1864)
CHEZALA GOUP
OECOPHORINAE,   OECOPHORIDAE,   GELECHIOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Chezala privatella
(Photo: courtesy of Nick Lambert, Bellingen, New South Wales)

This Caterpillar is thought to live in a cylindrical case open at both ends, constructed from rolling up a piece of a dead leaf, and securing and lining it with silk. The caterpillar probably feeds on the ground on dead leaves of

  • Gum Trees ( Eucalyptus species, MYRTACEAE ).

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

    The adult moth has brown forewings, each usually with three dark spots, and a submarginal arc of dark dots.. The hindwings are pale brown, darkening at the wingtips. Some moths have pale brown legs, and others dark brown. The wingspan is about 1.5 cms.

    The species has been found in:

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

    Chezala privatella
    underside
    (Photo: courtesy of John Bromilow, Ainslie, Australian Capital Territory)


    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Oecophorine Genera of Australia II: The Chezala, Philobota and Eulechria groups (Lepidoptera: Oecophoridae),
    Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera Volume 5,
    CSIRO Publishing, 1997, pp. 144, 146-148, 150, 152.

    Francis Walker,
    Tineites,
    List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
    Part 29 (1864), p. 753, No. 123.


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    (written 24 March 2020, updated 21 August 2020, 13 February 2021)