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

Entometa guttularis
(Photo: courtesy of S. Williams, Moths of Victoria: Part 1)

The Caterpillars of this species are brown. sometimes mottled, and sometimes plain brown.

Entometa guttularis
horns erected
(Photo: courtesy of Tony Bailey, Gold Coast, Queensland)

The caterpillars have a pair of erectable fleshy howns behind the head, and a floppy knob on the tail. When threatened, the caterpillar curls its head under its body, and displays a pair black and pale blue bands behind the head.

Entometa guttularis
coloured bands being displayed
(Photo: courtesy of Tony Bailey, Gold Coast, Queensland)

The caterpillars have been recorded feeding on the foliage of of various members of MYRTACEAE, including

  • Bottle Brush ( Callistemon species ),
  • Gum Trees ( Eucalyptus species ), and
  • Paperbark ( Melaleuca species ).

    Entometa guttularis
    (Photo: courtesy of S. Williams, Moths of Victoria: Part 1)

    The caterpillars pupate in a papery white cocoon between foodplant leaves.

    Entometa guttularis
    male
    (Photo: copyright of Uwe Path, Alice Springs)

    The adult moths have brown forewings with dark wiggly transverse lines and arcs of spots. The hindwings are a streaky orange.

    Entometa guttularis
    female
    (Photo: courtesy of Dianne Clarke Mapleton, Queensland)

    The males are smaller than the females, but have a similar coloration. The wingspan of the males is about 4 cms. The wingspan of the females is about 6 cms.

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

    The males have forewings that have a recurved margins, and have feathery antennae. The females have forewings with convex margins, and have thread-like antennae.

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

    The moths have a pale patch under the hindwing, which can be used to distinguish them from Entometa fervens.

    Entometa guttularis
    male, underside
    (Photo: copyright of Uwe Path, Alice Springs)

    The species is found over much of Australia, including:

  • Northern Territory,
  • Queensland,
  • New South Wales,
  • Victoria,
  • Tasmania,
  • South Australia, and
  • Western Australia.

    Entometa guttularis
    eggs
    (Photo: courtesy of Dianne Clarke Mapleton, Queensland)

    The eggs are small flattened spheres with a width of about 1 mm. They are pale brown mottled with white, and have brown tips. They are laid in irregular arrays of a dozen or so.

    Entometa guttularis
    one egg magnified
    (Photo: courtesy of Dianne Clarke Mapleton, Queensland)


    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia,
    Melbourne University Press, 1990, pl. 12.13, p. 390.

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

    Francis Walker,
    Catalogue of Lepidoptera Heterocera,
    List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
    Part 6 (1855), pp. 1413-1414, No. 2.


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    (updated 10 April 2011, 9 February 2017, 9 November 2019, 21 August 2020)