Entometa apicalis (Walker, 1855)
Gum Snout Moth
 (previously known as Lebeda apicalis)
LASIOCAMPINAE,   LASIOCAMPIDAE,   BOMBYCOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Entometa apicalis
(Photo: courtesy of Donald Hobern, Aranda, Australian Capital Territory)

These caterpillars are brown and blotchy. They have a knob on the tail, and two fleshy horns behind the head. The horns are erected when the caterpillar is annoyed, showing two black-edged pale blue bands behind the head.

Entometa apicalis
two caterpillars annoying each other
(Photo: courtesy of Donald Hobern, Aranda, Australian Capital Territory)

The caterpillars are thought to feed on the foliage of

  • Gum Trees ( Eucalyptus species, MYRTACEAE ).

    Entometa apicalis
    cocoon
    (Photo: courtesy of Robin Sharp, Korong Vale, Victoria)

    The caterpillar pupates in a rather conspicuous white cocoon on a foodplant leaf.

    Entometa apicalis
    female
    (Photo: courtesy of Peter Marriott, Moths of Victoria - Part 1)

    The adult moths of this species have brown forewings with dark markings, and orange hindwings.

    Entometa apicalis
    male
    (Photo: courtesy of Peter Marriott, Moths of Victoria - Part 1)

    The males are smaller than, and have similar coloration to, the females, but have forewings that are narrower and have darker markings. The males have feathery antennae, and the females have thread-like antennae. The wingspan of the males is about 7 cms. The wingspan of the females is about 9 cms.

    Entometa apicalis
    undersides
    (Photo: courtesy of Peter Marriott, Moths of Victoria - Part 1)

    The undersides are yellow shading to speckled brown along the costas and margins, with a row of dark spots near each margin, and a black line across the middle.

    Entometa apicalis
    female
    (Photo: courtesy of Peter Marriott, Moths of Victoria - Part 1)

    The species is found in south-eastern Australia, including:

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

    Entometa apicalis
    male
    (Photo: courtesy of Peter Marriott, Moths of Victoria - Part 1)

    Further reading :

    Peter B. McQuillan, Jan A. Forrest, David Keane, & Roger Grund,
    Caterpillars, moths, and their plants of Southern Australia,
    Butterfly Conservation South Australia Inc., Adelaide (2019), pp. 92-93.

    Peter Marriott,
    Moths of Victoria - Part 1,
    Silk Moths and Allies - BOMBYCOIDEA    ,
    Entomological Society of Victoria, 2008, pp. 10-11.

    Francis Walker,
    Lepidoptera Heterocera,
    List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
    Part 6 (1855), p. 1464, No. 15.

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    (updated 18 September 2011, 6 February 2019, 21 August 2020)