Lamprolepida chrysochroa (R. Felder 1874)
 (formerly known as Lamprolepis chrysochroa)
LIMACODIDAE,   ZYGAENOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley


(Photo: courtesy of Valry Ryland, Magnetic Island, Queensland)

These Caterpillars sting. Thecaterpillars are brown with a pair of white spots on the back of each segment, and a white 'S' shape on the side of each segment. The caterpillars have four long black-tipped pencils of stinging hairs at the thorax and the tail segment, and two shorter pencils by the head. The caterpillars have warts with white stinging hairs on each side of each segment joint.


(Photo: courtesy of Valry Ryland, Magnetic Island, Queensland)

The caterpillars have been found feeding communally on

  • Blind-your-eye Mangrove ( Excoecaria agallocha, EUPHORBIACEAE ).


    cocoons
    (Photo: courtesy of Valry Ryland, Magnetic Island, Queensland)

    The caterpillars grow to a length of about 2.5 cms. The caterpillars form hard round cocoons on a twig. The cocoons have a diameter of about 1 cm.


    (Photo: courtesy of Valry Ryland, Magnetic Island, Queensland)

    The adult moths of this species have rusty brown forewings each with a paler or darker band along the margin, and a dark diagonal line. The hindwings are plain brown. The wingspan is about 2.5 cms.


    female, drawing by Rudolf Felder, listed as Lamprolepis chrysochroa    ,
    Reise der Osterreichischen Fregatte Novara,
    Band 2, Abtheilung 2 (5) (1874), Plate LXXXII, Fig. 13,
    image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Smithsonian Libraries.

    The species occurs in:

  • Queensland.


    underside
    (Photo: courtesy of Valry Ryland, Magnetic Island, Queensland)

    Further reading :

    Rudolf Felder,
    Zoologischer Theil: Lepidoptera,
    in R. Felder & A.F. Rogenhofer:
    Reise der Österreichischen Fregatte Novara um die Erde,
    Heft IV, Band 2, Abtheilung 2 (1874), p. 6, and also Plate 82, fig. 13.

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    (written 31 October 2014, updated 31 August 2018, 16 July 2019)