Chlenias belophora (Turner, 1919)
Centreline Crest-moth
 (one synonym : Chlenias chytrinopa Turner, 1947)
DIPTYCHINI,   ENNOMINAE,   GEOMETRIDAE,   GEOMETROIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Chlenias belophora
(Photo: courtesy of Mike and Pat Coupar, Flying Colours)

The Caterpillars of this species have brighly coloured stripes. A greenish dorsal dark-edged stripe is bounded on each side by a narrow yellow stripe. Next to that is a wider black stripe, containing a narrow and fragmented white line. Below the black stripe is another wider yellow stripe passing over the spiracles, which appear as black dots. Below that is a green stripe containing a fragmented white line, bounded underneath by a black-edged yellow stripe, next to the ventral dark-edged green stripe.

The head is pale bluish-green with dark dots. The true legs are red, and the penultimate prolegs each have a large red spot. The two penultimate abdominal segments also each have a red spot underneath each side. The anal plate is pale green with dark dots.

The caterpillars were found feeding on

  • Red Box (Eucalyptus polyanthemos, MYRTACEAE).

    Chlenias belophora
    (Photo: courtesy of Mike and Pat Coupar, Flying Colours)

    The adult moths have streaky brown forewings, and plain brown hindwings. The wingspan is about 3 cms.

    Chlenias belophora
    (Photo: courtesy of Olga Schmidt, Queensland Museum, listed as Chlenias chytrinopa)

    The species has been found in:

  • Victoria.

    Chlenias belophora
    underside
    (Photo: courtesy of Olga Schmidt, Queensland Museum, listed as Chlenias chytrinopa)

    The adult moths of the various species in the genus Chlenias are all very variable, and appear to be more variable than the variations between the species. The identification of the specimens pictured here may prove to be wrong when more work is done on this genus.

    Further Reading

    Pat and Mike Coupar,
    Flying Colours,
    New South Wales University Press, Sydney 1992.

    Olga Schmidt,
    An annotated and illustrated list of the primary type specimens of geometrid moths deposited in the Queensland Museum (Australia, Brisbane),
    Spixiana,
    Volume 5, Part 1 (2012), pp. 79-100, Figs. 14 a,b.

    A. Jefferis Turner,
    Revision of Australian Lepidoptera. VI (Third instalment),
    Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales,
    Volume 44 (1919), p. 310, No. 223.

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    (written 21 May 2015, updated 26 June 2020)