Ptilomacra senex Walker, 1855
 (one synonym: Pachyphlebius thoracicus Felder, 1874)
COSSINAE,   COSSIDAE,   COSSOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@outlook.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Ptilomacra senex
(Photo: courtesy of Joan Fearn, Moruya, New South Wales)

These Caterpillars bore into and live inside the stems of :

  • Grass Trees ( Xanthorrhoea, ASPHODELACEAE ).

    Ptilomacra senex
    (Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

    The adult moths have a pattern of light and dark fawn on the wings. They have a wingspan of about 10 cms.

    The species occurs in the south-east quarter of mainland Australia, including:

  • Queensland,
  • New South Wales,
  • Victoria, and
  • South Australia.

    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia, Melbourne University Press, 1990, fig. 26.4, p. 270.

    Francis Walker,
    Catalogue of Lepidoptera Heterocera,
    List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
    Part 5 (1855), p. 1098, No. 1.

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    (updated 23 July 2010)