Abantiades aphenges (Turner, 1904) Bubbly Ghost Moth (formerly known as Pielus aphenges) HEPIALIDAE,   HEPIALOIDEA

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

(Photo: courtesy of Jethro Williams , Milton, New South Wales)

This species has dark grey or brown forewings, each having small sinuous pale bubbly markings. The hindwings are grey-brown.

(Photo: courtesy of Steven Dodge, Nowra, New South Wales)

In its resting posture, it wraps it wings around the body and sticks its hairy legs out.

resting posture
(Photo: courtesy of Steven Dodge, Moruya, New South Wales)

The moths have unipectinate antennae. The male moths have a wingspan of about 6 cms. The female moths have a wingspan of about 9 cms.

female, monochrome grey-scale photo by Norman B. Tindale,
Revision of the Australian Ghost Moths (Lepidoptera Homoneura, Family Hepialidae),
Records of the South Australian Museum, Volume 4, Part 4 (1932), p. 535, fig. 64,
image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by South Australian Museum.

The species has been found in

Victoria.

male, monochrome grey-scale photo by Norman B. Tindale,
Revision of the Australian Ghost Moths (Lepidoptera Homoneura, Family Hepialidae),
Records of the South Australian Museum, Volume 4, Part 4 (1932), p. 535, fig. 63,
image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by South Australian Museum.

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Further reading :

Norman B. Tindale,
Revision of the Australian Ghost Moths (Lepidoptera Homoneura, Family Hepialidae),
Records of the South Australian Museum,
Volume 4, Part 4 (1932), pp. 535-536, figs. 63, 64.

A. Jefferis Turner,
New Australian Lepidoptera, with synonymic and other notes,
Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia,
Volume 28 (1904), p. 247.

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(written 7 October 2016, updated 1 January 2023)