Hyposidra janiaria

Hyposidra janiaria Guenée, 1857
(one synonym : Hyposidra australis Felder & Rogenhofer, 1875)
BOARMIINI, ENNOMINAE, GEOMETRIDAE, GEOMETROIDEA

Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Hyposidra janiaria
first instar, magnified
(Photo: courtesy of Graeme Cocks Townsville, Queensland)

The young Caterpillars of this species are black with bands of white spots.

second instar
(Photo: courtesy of Simon Ong, Kununurra, Western Australia)

As the caterpillars grow, the later instars become brown, and start losing their white spots, and develop pink true legs

penultimate instar, still has one pair of pale spots
(Photo: courtesy of Simon Ong, Kununurra, Western Australia)

The last instar is grey-brown peppered with black dots.

last instar
(Photo: courtesy of Simon Ong, Kununurra, Western Australia)

The caterpillars have been found feeding on various plants in FABACEAE, including :

Canthormium ( Cathormion umbellatum ),

Soybeans ( Glycine max ), and

White Dragon Tree ( Sesbania formosa ),

as well as plants in other families, including :

Lemons ( RUTACEAE ).

pupa
(Photo: courtesy of Simon Ong, Kununurra, Western Australia)

The caterpillar grows to a length of about 4 cms. The pupa is dark brown with a rounded head-end, and a pointed tail-end. t is formed underground.

female
(Photo: courtesy of David Knowles, Walcott, Western Australia)

The female adult moths are brown with two wavy lines on each forewing enclosing a variable pale or dark brown area.

female, lithograph by Felder & Rogenhofer, Hyposidra australis,
Reise der Osterreichischen Fregatte Novara,
Band 2, Abtheilung 2 (5) (1875), plate CXXIX, fig. 24,
image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Smithsonian Libraries.

The forewings of the female each have a concave edge on the margin and an arc of white spots near the wingtip. The females have a wingspan of about 5 cms.

male
(Photo: courtesy of Geoff Byrne, Kununurra, Western Australia)

The male adult moths are brown with a wavy white line across each forewing. The males are only 2/3 the size of the female. The male wingspan is about 3.5 cms.

male, lithograph by Felder & Rogenhofer, Hyposidra australis,
Reise der Osterreichischen Fregatte Novara,
Band 2, Abtheilung 2 (5) (1875), plate CXXIX, fig. 23,
image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Smithsonian Libraries.

The species has been found in

Java,

and in Australia in

Western Australia,

Northern Territory, and

Queensland.

female showing underside
(Photo: courtesy of Geoff Byrne, Kununurra, Western Australia)

Further reading :

Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia,
Melbourne University Press, 1990, fig. 36.6, p. 367-368.

Buck Richardson,
Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art,
LeapFrogOz, Kuranda, 2015, p. 64.

Rudolf Felder & Alois F. Rogenhofer,
Zoologisher Theil,
Reise der Osterreichischen Fregatte Novara,
Band 2, Abtheilung 2 (5) (1875), p. 12, and also Plate 129, figs, 23-24.

Achille Guenée,
Uranides et Phalénites II,
in Boisduval & Guenée:
Histoire naturelle des insectes; spécies général des lépidoptères,
Volume 9, Part 10 (1857), p. 150, No. 1171.

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(updated 7 January 2013, 24 January 2018, 27 November 2019, 25 August 2020, 9 January 2021)