Porela delineata (Walker, 1855)
Lined Porela
 (previously known as Tacillia delineata)
LASIOCAMPINAE,   LASIOCAMPIDAE,   BOMBYCOIDEA
  
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Porela delineata
(Photo: courtesy of Peter Marriott, Moths of Victoria - Part 1)

This caterpillar is grey with long hairs. There are black tufts along the back, and the head has two black stripes.

Porela delineata
close-up of head and thorax
(Photo: courtesy of David Akers, Won Wron, Victoria)

The caterpillar has been found on various plants in MYRTACEAE, including :

  • Swamp Paperbark ( Melaleuca ericifolia ),
  • White Ironbark ( Eucalyptus leucoxylon ), and
  • Tea Tree ( Leptospermum species ).

    Porela delineata
    (Photo: courtesy of Peter Marriott, Moths of Victoria - Part 1)

    Pupation occurs in a white elliptical cocoon spun among the leaves of the foodplant.

    Porela delineata
    (Photo: courtesy of Peter Marriott, Moths of Victoria - Part 1)

    The moth is grey with a fine intricate pattern on the forewings of white and brown. Each forewing has a white spot near the middle. The hindwings are plain off-white, often each with a diffuse darker band. The moth has a wingspan of about 3 cms.

    Porela delineata
    (Photo: courtesy of Peter Marriott, Moths of Victoria - Part 1)

    It has been found in:

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

    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia,
    Melbourne University Press, 1990, pl. 12.8, p. 390.

    Peter Marriott,
    Moths of Victoria - Part 1,
    Silk Moths and Allies - BOMBYCOIDEA    ,
    Entomological Society of Victoria, 2008,, pp. 6-7, 12-13.

    Buck Richardson,
    Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art,
    LeapFrogOz, Kuranda, 2015, p. 102.

    Francis Walker,
    Lepidoptera Heterocera,
    List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
    Part 6 (1855), p. 1490, No. 1.

    previous
    back
    caterpillar
    Australian
    Australian Butterflies
    butterflies
    Australian
    home
    Lepidoptera
    Australian
    Australian Moths
    moths
    next
    next
    caterpillar

    (updated 16 April 2013, 18 May 2023)