Austromusotima camptozonale (Hampson, 1897)
 (previously known as Oligostigma camptozonale)
MUSOTIMINAE,   CRAMBIDAE,   PYRALOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley


(Photo: courtesy of USDA-ARS/CSIRO Australian Biological Control Lab, Indooroopilly, Queensland)

This Caterpillar feeds on various ferns ( POLYPODIOPHYTA ) from the family SCHIZAEACEAE, including :

  • Climbimg Maidenhair ( Lygodium microphyllum ),
  • Japanese Climbing Fern ( Lygodium japonicum, and
  • Hartford Fern ( Lygodium palmatum ).


    (Photo: courtesy of Buck Richardson, Kuranda, Queensland)

    The adult moths have pale wings, with brown sinuous lines across them, and with narrow yellowish margins. The hindwing margins are ringed with black dots. The moths have a wingspan of about 2 cms.

    The species is found in

  • Indonesia,

    as well as in Australia in

  • Northern Territory, and
  • Queensland.

    The species is being considered for the control of Lygodium microphyllum which has become a pest in Florida, USA.

    Further reading :

    George F. Hampson,
    On the classification of two sub-families of moths of the family Pyralidae: the Hydrocampinae and Scopariinae,
    Transactions of the Entomological Society of London,
    Volume 2 (1897) pp. 169-170, No. 28.

    Buck Richardson,
    Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art,
    LeapFrogOz, Kuranda, 2015, p. 26.

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    (updated 12 May 2013, 26 April 2015, 9 June 2019)