Hednota opulentellus (Zeller, 1863)
 (previously known as Crambus opulentellus)
CRAMBINAE,   CRAMBIDAE,   PYRALOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Hednota opulentellus
(Photo: courtesy of Ken Harris, Morwell Park, Victoria)

The adult moth has forewings with brown and silvery white longitudinal stripes. The hind wings are silky and buff coloured. However, when the moth is holding onto a vertical blade of grass with its wings wrapped around its body, the shiny stripes make a good camouflage. The moth has a wing span of about 3 cms.

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

The species is found over most of Australia, including

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

    Hednota opulentellus
    underside
    (Photo: copyright of Brett and Marie Smith, at Ellura Sanctuary, South Australia)

    Further reading :

    Peter B. McQuillan, Jan A. Forrest, David Keane, & Roger Grund,
    Caterpillars, moths, and their plants of Southern Australia,
    Butterfly Conservation South Australia Inc., Adelaide (2019), pp. 82-83.

    Philipp C. Zeller,
    Chilonidarum et Crambidarum genera et species,
    Programm der Königlichen Realschule zu Meseritz,
    Berolini (1863), pp. 46-47, No. 122.

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    (updated 27 March 2011, 3 May 2018, 21 May 2021)