Pinara obliqua (Walker, 1855)
Angled Pinara
 (one synonym : Rhinogyne calligama R.Felder, 1874)
LASIOCAMPINAE,   LASIOCAMPIDAE,   BOMBYCOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
( donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Pinara obliqua
first instar, magnified
(Photo: courtesy of Marlene Walter, Clifton Hill, Victoria)

The first instar Caterpillars of this species are greyish and hairy, and grow to a length of about 0.8 cms.

Pinara obliqua
second instar, magnified
(Photo: courtesy of Marlene Walter, Clifton Hill, Victoria)

Later instars develop pairs of yellow spots along the back, and scarlet sides to the head, and have a pair of dark hair tufts: one growing from each side of the prothorax.

Pinara obliqua
fifth (final) instar
(Photo: courtesy of Marlene Walter, Clifton Hill, Victoria)

The caterpillars feed on the foliage of :

  • Gum Trees ( Eucalyptus, MYRTACEAE ).

    Pinara obliqua
    Male
    (Photo: courtesy of Tim Bowler, Inverloch, Victoria)

    The adult male and female moths are different in appearance. The male has dark brown forewings, and darker hindwings with broad orange margins. The males have a wingspan of about 4 cms.

    Pinara obliqua
    Male
    (Photo: courtesy of Peter Marriott, Moths of Victoria - Part 1)

    The female moth has pale grey forewings, each with a submarginal row of dark brown spots. and pale grey hindwings. The females have a wingspan of about 5 cms.

    Pinara obliqua
    Female
    (Photo: courtesy of Peter Marriott, Moths of Victoria - Part 1)

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

  • New South Wales, and
  • Victoria.

    Pinara obliqua
    Male showing underside
    (Photo: courtesy of Genevieve Manhal (photographer) and Tim Bowler(hand), Inverloch, Victoria)

    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia,
    Melbourne University Press, 1990, pl. 12.9, p. 391.

    Peter Marriott,
    Moths of Victoria - Part 1,
    Silk Moths and Allies - BOMBYCOIDEA    ,
    Entomological Society of Victoria, 2008, pp. 14-15.

    Francis Walker,
    Lepidoptera Heterocera,
    List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
    Part 4 (1855), p. 973, No. 2.

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    (updated 10 April 2009, 3 October 2019, 15 March 2021, 3 March2022)