(one synonym: Aiteta plinthophora Turner, 1920) CHLOEPHORINAE, NOLIDAE, NOCTUOIDEA, | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
(Photo: courtesy of
USDA-ARS/CSIRO Australian Biological Control Lab, Indooroopilly, Queensland).
This Caterpillar looks as though it had an arguement with a balloon. The caterpillar is green or pale brown with an expanded nearly spherical thorax. The abdomen has a dark dorsal stripe, and a darker lateral stripe each side. The caterpillar also has a pair of brown horns on its tail.
It has been found feeding on :
It pupates in a papery white cocoon on the underside of a leaf of its foodplant.
The adult moth has brown forewings, each with two dark blotches on the hind margin. The hindwings are pale brown, fading toward the bases. The wingspan is about 5 cms.
The species is found in
The species is being studied as a possible biological control agent for infestations of Melaleuca in Florida.
Further reading :
Buck Richardson,
Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art,
LeapFrogOz, Kuranda, 2015, p. 168.
William Warren,
New oriental Noctuidae in the Tring Museum,
Novitates Zoologicae,
Volume 23 (1916), p. 227, No. 70.
caterpillar | butterflies | Lepidoptera | moths | caterpillar |
(updated 24 October 2012, 25 November 2018, 10 December 2019, 13 February 2021)