Cyclotorna monocentra Meyrick, 1912
CYCLOTORNIDAE,   ZYGAENOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Cyclotorna monocentra
early larva, black and white line drawing by H. Knight
,
in Dodds & Meyrick: 'Some remarkable ant-friend Lepidoptera of Queensland',
Transactions of the Entomological Society of London, 1911, Plate XLVIII, fig. 2,
image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Smithsonian Libraries.

The caterpillars of this species are carnivorous. The early instars are flat and segmented, and look like mites. Initially the caterpillars are yellow, later turning pink. They feed on

  • Leaf Hoppers ( CICADELLIDAE ).

    The caterpillars then form a pink cocoon.

    Cyclotorna monocentra
    first cocoon, black and white line drawing by H. Knight
    ,
    in Dodds & Meyrick: 'Some remarkable ant-friend Lepidoptera of Queensland',
    Transactions of the Entomological Society of London, 1911, Plate XLVIII, fig 3,
    image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Smithsonian Libraries.

    The later instars emerge after a few days, and are taken by

  • Meat Ants ( Iridomyrmex purpureus, FORMICIDAE ),

    into the Ants' nest, where the caterpillars feed on the ant larvae.

    Cyclotorna monocentra
    late instar larva, black and white line drawing by H. Knight
    ,
    in Dodds & Meyrick: 'Some remarkable ant-friend Lepidoptera of Queensland',
    Transactions of the Entomological Society of London, 1911, Plate XLVIII, fig. 4,
    image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Smithsonian Libraries.

    These later instar caterpillars are thought to emit a kairomone that induces ants to take the caterpillars into the ants' nest. These later instars are red and flattened, with soft pointed processes sticking out the sides of each segment, and with elongated processes on the last segment. As these caterpillars grow, the processes do not grow, and so become less noticeable.

    Cyclotorna monocentra
    final cocoon, black and white line drawing by H. Knight
    ,
    in Dodds & Meyrick: 'Some remarkable ant-friend Lepidoptera of Queensland',
    Transactions of the Entomological Society of London, 1911, Plate XLVIII, fig. 6,
    image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Smithsonian Libraries.

    The mature caterpillars leave the ant nest, and pupate in a cocoon under some bark or other crevice.

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

    Adult moths have dark brown wings, with a two dark spots and a dark dash on each forewing. The wingspan of the male moths is about 2 cms. The wingspan of the female moths is about 2.5 cms.

    Cyclotorna monocentra
    row of eggs, with close-up of one egg, black and white line drawing by H. Knight
    ,
    in Dodds & Meyrick: 'Some remarkable ant-friend Lepidoptera of Queensland',
    Transactions of the Entomological Society of London, 1911, Plate XLVIII, fig 1,
    image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Smithsonian Libraries.

    The eggs are off-white and ellipsoidal, with ridges of little knobs. They are laid lying sideways in an irregular row along a twig or piece of bark of a plant with Leaf Hoppers on it. The eggs have a length of about 0.5 mm.

    The species has been found in Australia in

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


    Further reading :

    Edward Meyrick,
    Supplement to F.P. Dodds' Some remarkable ant-friend Lepidoptera of Queensland,
    Transactions of the Entomological Society of London,
    1911, pp. 589-590 and also Plate 48, figs. 12-15.


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    (written 2 April 2017, updated 13 April 2017, 20 May 2021)