Ethmia postica (Zeller, 1877)
(previously known as Psecadia postica)
ETHMIIDAE,   GELECHIOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Ethmia postica
(Photo: courtesy of Graeme Cocks, Townsville, Queensland)

The Caterpillars of this species are thought to feed on plants in the family BORAGINACEAE.

The adult moths have white forewings, each with black dots, and black areas at the margin. The hindwings are white, each with a broad black area at the wingtip. The moths have a wingspan of about 3 cms.

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

The species has been found in

  • Western Australia,
  • Northern Territory,
  • Queensland,
  • New South Wales, and
  • Victoria.

    Ethmia postica
    drawing by Philipp C. Zeller, listed as Psecadia postica
    ,
    Horae Societatis entomologicae vossicae, variis semonibus in Russia usitatis editae,
    Exotische Microlepidopteren, Volume XIII (1877), Plate III, fig 72,
    image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Smithsonian Libraries.

    This species is similar to Ethmia hemadelpha, but larger, with slightly different forewing markings, and a differently coloured abdomen.


    Further reading

    Jerry A. Powell,
    Biology and Immature Stages of Australian Ethmiid Moths (Gelechioidea),
    Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera,
    Volume 20 (1981), Number 4, pp. 214-234.

    Philipp C. Zeller,
    Exotische Microlepidopteren,
    Horae Societatis Entomologicae Rossicae,
    Volume 13 (1877), pp. 236-237, No. 2, and also Plate 3, fig 72.


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    (written 15 January 2013, updated 18 January 2013, 7 May 2021)