| Electric Moth GEOMETRINAE, GEOMETRIDAE, GEOMETROIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
(Photo: courtesy of
Donald Hobern, Blackheath, New South Wales)
|
| Electric Moth GEOMETRINAE, GEOMETRIDAE, GEOMETROIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
(Photo: courtesy of
Donald Hobern, Blackheath, New South Wales)
The adult moths of this species have forewings that are pale brown with a variable complex pattern of scalloped darker brown lines and patches.
Unusually for moths in GEOMETRIDAE, the hindwings of this species are quite different from the forewings. The hindwings are orange with a broad brown margin and each has a dark spot in the middle. In the natural posture of the moth, these brightly coloured hindwings are obscured. The wingspan is about 4 cms.
The underside of each wing is yellow with a grey marginal band, a black submarginal band, and a black and white patch.
The species has been found in the southern half of Australia, including:
The adult moths have a coiled haustellum under the head, which they can uncoil, and through which they can sip nectar from flowers.
Another species superficially similar to Heliomystis electrica, but genetically different, has been found in
Further reading :
Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia,
Melbourne University Press, 1990, plate 10.19, p. 371.
Peter Marriott,
Moths of Victoria: Part 4,
Emeralds and Allies - GEOMETROIDEA (B),
Entomological Society of Victoria, 2012, pp. 28-29.
Edward Meyrick,
Revision of Australian Lepidoptera II,
Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales,
Series 2, Volume 2, Part 4 (1888), p. 878, No. 46.
 caterpillar |  butterflies |  Lepidoptera |  moths |  caterpillar |
(updated 28 June 2013, 8 October 2013, 26 April 2014, 27 April 2021, 16 May 2022)