Calamotropha dielota Meyrick, 1886
 CRAMBINAE,   CRAMBIDAE,   PYRALOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

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

The caterpillars of this species are thought to feed on grasses (POACEAE) the adult moths having been caught in plantations of

  • Sugar Cane ( Saccharum officinarum ).

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

    The adult moth has pale brown forewings, each sometimes with many narrow longitudinal stripes, a submarginal arc of black dots, and a black dot near the middle. The hindwings are off-white, darkening toward the wingtips. The wingspan is about 3 cms.

    The species has been found in

  • Fiji,

    as well as in Australia in

  • Western Australia,
  • Northern Territory,
  • Queensland, and
  • Australian Capital Territory.

    It is possible that the species was introduced to Fiji with the Sugar Cane.

    Further reading :

    Edward Meyrick,
    Descriptions of Lepidoptera from the South Pacific,
    Transactions of the Entomological Society of London,
    1886, pp. 268-269.

    previous
    back
    caterpillar
    Australian
    Australian Butterflies
    butterflies
    Australian
    home
    Lepidoptera
    Australian
    Australian Moths
    moths
    next
    next
    caterpillar

    (written 10 May 2018, updated 22 May 2021)