Gibbovalva quadrifasciata (Stainton, 1863)
 (previously known as Gracilaria quadrifasciata)
GRACILLARIINAE,   GRACILLARIIDAE,   GRACILLARIOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley


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

This Caterpillar is pale green with a dark dorsal line, and pale brown jaws. The caterpillar mines the leaves and is a pest on various plants in LAURACEAE, including feeding on

  • Nelthare ( Alseodaphne semecarpifolia ),
  • Camphor Laurel ( Cinnamomum camphora ),
  • Bollywood ( Neolitsea dealbata ), and
  • Avocado ( Persea americana ).

    The caterpillar leaves its leaf mine to pupate in a red cocoon in a cleft or curled leaf.


    (Photo: courtesy of Nick Lambert, Coffs Harbour, New South Wales)

    The adult moths have forewings with a complex pattern of brown and white. The hind margins of all of the wings are heavily fringed.


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

    The wingspan is about 0.6 cm. The antennae and hindlegs are longer than the wings. Its natural pose has it sitting up at an angle to the surface it is on.


    Drawing by Henry Tibbats Stainton, listed as Gracilaria quadrifasciata    ,
    Descriptions of Nine Exotic Species of the Genus Gracilaria,
    Transactions of the Entomological Society of London,
    Series 3, Volume 1 (1863), Plate 10, fig. 5,
    Image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Smithsonian Libraries.

    The species is found in south-east Asia, including

  • China,
  • Japan,
  • Taiwan,

    as well as in Australia in

  • Queensland, and
  • New South Wales.


    underside
    (Photo: courtesy of Aila Keto, Springbrook, Queensland)

    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia,
    Melbourne University Press, 1990, p. 198.

    Henry Tibbats Stainton,
    Descriptions of Nine Exotic Species of the Genus Gracilaria,
    Transactions of the Entomological Society of London,
    Series 3, Volume 1 (1863), pp. 295-296, and also Plate 10, fig. 5.

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    (updated 10 July 2012, 17 August 2020)