Polysoma eumetalla (Meyrick, 1880)
 (previously known as Acrocercops eumetalla)
GRACILLARIINAE,   GRACILLARIIDAE,   GRACILLARIOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley


(Photo: courtesy of Michael Quinn, Ainslie, Australian Capital Territory)

The Caterpillars of this species have been found feeding and living :

  • in galls on Silver Wattle ( Acacia dealbata, MIMOSACEAE ),
         caused by the rust fungus Uromycladium tepperianum ( PUCCINALES ), and
  • in galls on Blackwood ( Acacia melanoxylon, MIMOSACEAE )
         caused by the fly Cecidomyia acaciaelongifoliae ( CECIDOMYIIDAE ).


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

    The adult moths are a metallic gold colour with white markings, and have a wingspan of about 1 cm.

    The species has been found in Australia in

  • Queensland,
  • New South Wales,
  • Australian Capital Territory,
  • Victoria, and
  • Tasmania,

    and also in

  • New Zealand.

    Further reading :

    Richard Bashford,
    The insect complex inhabiting galls formed by Cecidomyia acaciaelongifoliae Skuse (Diptera: CECIDOMYIIDAE) on Blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon) in Tasmania,
    The Australian Entomologist,
    Volume 33, Part 1 (March 2006), pp. 1-4.

    Richard Bashford,
    The insect fauna inhabiting Uromycladium (Uredinales) rust galls on Silver Wattle (Acacia dealbata) in Tasmania,
    The Australian Entomologist,
    Volume 29, Part 3 (September 2002), pp. 81-95.

    Edward Meyrick,
    Descriptions of Australian Micro-lepidoptera: III: Tineina,
    Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales,
    Series 1, Volume 5, Part 2 (1880), p. 160.

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    (updated 13 September 2006, 26 November 2024)