| (previously known as : Susica placerodes) LIMACODIDAE, ZYGAENOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
(Photo: courtesy of
Christina Suttner,
Wondecla, Queensland)
|
| (previously known as : Susica placerodes) LIMACODIDAE, ZYGAENOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
(Photo: courtesy of
Christina Suttner,
Wondecla, Queensland)
The Caterpillars of this species are green, and covered in rosettes of green stinging spines, interspersed with longer red and blue hair pencils, which also sting.
The caterpillars have been found feeding on
The caterpillars have no legs, and slither along like snails. The caterpillars grow to a length of about 3.5 cms.
They pupate in an hard ovoid cocoon covered in leaf litter. The lid pops off for the adult to emerge.
The adult moths have brown forewings, each with a diagonal dark-edged pale line across the middle. The hindwings and body are brown. The wingspan of the males is about 5 cms. The wingspan of the females is about 6 cms.
The moths adopt a curious natural posture with the abdomen pointing straight upwards.
The species occurs in
Further reading :
Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia,
Melbourne University Press, 1990, pl. 8.7, p. 303.
Buck Richardson,
Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art,
LeapFrogOz, Kuranda, 2015, p. 106.
A. Jefferis Turner,
Revision of Australian Lepidoptera: Drepanidae, Limacodidae, Zygaenidae,
Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales,
Volume 51 (1926), pp. 437-438, No. 52.
 caterpillar |  butterflies |  Lepidoptera |  moths |  caterpillar |
(updated 24 December 2010, 11 March 2023)