Porela vetusta Walker, 1855
Ancient Porela
 (one synonym : Clathe anthracica Turner, 1902)
LASIOCAMPINAE,   LASIOCAMPIDAE,   BOMBYCOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Porela vetusta
female
(Photo: courtesy of Marilyn Hewish, Moths of Victoria - Update 59)

These Caterpillars feed on the foliage of various species in MYRTACEAE, including :

  • Gum Trees ( Eucalyptus ), and
  • Tea Trees ( Leptospermum ).

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

    The adults are brown or grey, with a white triangular patch near the hind margin of each forewing. The male moth has a wingspan of about 2.5 cms. The female moth has a wingspan of about 3.5 cms.

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

    The species is found over the eastern half of Australia, including:

  • southern Queensland,
  • New South Wales,
  • Victoria,
  • Tasmania, and
  • South Australia.

    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia,
    Melbourne University Press, 1990, pls. 12.18,12.19, p. 390.

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

    Francis Walker,
    Lepidoptera Heterocera, Addenda,
    List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
    Part 3 (1855), pp. 772-773, No. 1.

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    (updated 13 April 2010, 10 December 2017, 15 March 2021)