| Pink Arhodia (one synonym : Nigasa subpurpurea Walker, 1860) OENOCHROMINAE, GEOMETRIDAE, GEOMETROIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley & Peter Marriott |
(Photo: courtesy of Mike and Pat Coupar,
from:
"Flying Colours", Coupar & Coupar, 1992)
The Caterpillars of this species are fawn, sometimes greenish or reddish, with a reddish head, three tiny dark-edged pale spots each side of each segment, and have a dark mark on a knob on the tail. They have only one pair of prolegs, plus anal claspers, and so move in a looper fashion.
The caterpillars feed on the foliage of
They normally rest motionless by day, and feed at night. Pupation occurs in a shallow pit or in ground debris.
The adult moths are brown, but have forewing patterns that are somewhat variable.
Some have a row of dark dots or a vague line running about 5 mm from the outside edge of the wing. There is a dark mark about halfway along the trailing edge of each forewing. The rear wings are more variable, ranging from a pink, through salmon to a drab pink tinged brown. A distinct diagonal line usually runs through the middle of each rear wing.
Adult males often come to lights in October, November, December, and January. Females rarely come to lights (less than 5%). The female wings are a slightly different shape, and larger, but have similar colours to males. Also, the antennae of female are threadlike, whereas that of a male is feathery.
Both sexes have a large purplish blotch on the underside of the forewing. The underside of the rear wing is a pale brown. Male wingspan up to 6 cms, female 7 cms.
The eggs are spherical and pale grey, and are laid in a row along the edge of a foodplant leaf.
Ths species is found over most of Australia, including
Further reading :
Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia,
Melbourne University Press, 1990, fig. 36.9, p. 369.
Pat and Mike Coupar,
Flying Colours,
New South Wales University Press, Sydney 1992, p. 37.
Achille Guenée,
in Boisduval & Guenée: Uranides et Phalénites,
Histoire naturelle des insectes; spécies général des lépidoptères,
Volume 9, Part 9 (1857), p. 186, No. 288..
Peter Marriott,
Moths of Victoria: Part 4,
Emeralds and Allies - GEOMETROIDEA (B),
Entomological Society of Victoria, 2012, pp. 12-13.
 caterpillar |  butterflies |  Lepidoptera |  moths |  caterpillar |
(updated 18 June 2013, 18 February 2019, 5 November 2020, 20 December 2021)