DIPTYCHINI, ENNOMINAE, GEOMETRIDAE, GEOMETROIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Cathy Byrne & Stella Crossley |
male
(Photo: copyright Cathy Byrne)
Both sexes of adult moth have greyish-brown wings. Each forewing has an indistinct dark spot near the middle. The hindwings become paler toward the bases. The males have feathery antennae, and the females have thread-like antennae. This species is the smallest in the genus Paralaea, with a wingspan of about 4.5 cms.
The eggs are laid in a distinctive formation, at a slight angle to the substrate, and slightly overlapping each other, like roof shingles. The eggs are initially bluish-green, changing later to become transparent. The eggs appear to hatch only after rain.
This species only occurs in
Further reading :
Peter B. McQuillan, Catherine J. Young, & Alistair M.M. Richardson,
A revision of the Australian moth genus Paralaea Guest
(Lepidoptera: Geometridae: Ennominae),
Invertebrate Taxonomy,
Volume 15, part 3 (2001), pp. 277-317.
caterpillar | butterflies | Lepidoptera | moths | caterpillar |
(updated 4 March 2005, 3 June 2019)