| Western Tussock Moth (sometimes known as Teia athlophora) LYMANTRIINAE, EREBIDAE, NOCTUOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
early instar
(Photo: courtesy of Hsueh-Wen, Manjimup, Western Australia)
|
| Western Tussock Moth (sometimes known as Teia athlophora) LYMANTRIINAE, EREBIDAE, NOCTUOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
early instar
(Photo: courtesy of Hsueh-Wen, Manjimup, Western Australia)
This Caterpillar is initially dark brown and hairy, with four pale tussocks along the back, and a white and a black tussock projecting each side. There are two red dorsal glands, one on each of the penultimate two abdominal segments.
Later instars become paler brown or even orange.
The Caterpillar has been found feeding on a variety of plants, including:
The adult male moth has forewings with a pattern of dark and light brown, each forewing with two white spots, one near the wingtip, and one near the tornus. The male moth has plain pale brown hind wings. and has a hairy brown body. He has a wingspan of about 3.5 cms.
The female is flightless and has only vestigial wings. She is fat, brown, and hairy.
The species occurs in
Further reading :
Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia,
Melbourne University Press, 1990, p. 429.
A. Jefferis Turner,
New Genera and Species of Lepidoptera belonging to the Family Noctuidae,
Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales,
Volume 45 No.4 (1921), pp. 493-494, No. 52.
 caterpillar |  butterflies |  Lepidoptera |  moths |  caterpillar |
(updated 19 May 2006, 11 February 2014, 9 April 2015, 2 January 2018, 7 April 2019, 20 April 2020, 12 March 2021)