Lecithocera micromela (Lower, 1897)
 (previously known as Gelechia micromela)
LECITHOCERIDAE,   GELECHIOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley


(Photo: courtesy of Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

The adult moths of this species have very dark brown wings which have a purple sheen. The hindwings are grey. The head and legs are black, but the antennae and labial palps are yellowish. The antennae are each about as long as the forewing. The wingspan is about 1 cm.


egg, magnified
(Photo: courtesy of Terry Annable, Lake Macquarie, New South Wales)

The eggs are yellow and dumpling-shaped with a diameter of about 0.5 mm. They are sticky and laid singly.

The species has been found in

  • New Zealand,

    as well as in Australia in

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

    Further reading :

    Oswald B. Lower,
    Descriptions of new Australian Lepidoptera,
    Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia,
    Volume 21 (1897), pp. 55-56.

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    (written 4 November 2023)