| Suffused Tuft-moth (previously known as Zia plagiochyta) NOLINAE, NOLIDAE, NOCTUOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
(Photo: courtesy of Peter Marriott,
Moths of Victoria: Part 2)
|
| Suffused Tuft-moth (previously known as Zia plagiochyta) NOLINAE, NOLIDAE, NOCTUOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
(Photo: courtesy of Peter Marriott,
Moths of Victoria: Part 2)
The caterpillar of this species is off-white with a broad bright white dorsal stripe, which is edged each side by a thick black line, and which has two thin dark lines along its length. The black lines are thichest on the back of the second abdominal segment.
Each side has three rows of orange verrucae with white hairs. The head initially is brown, turning black in later instars. The head has a red verruca each side, each with black hairs.
The caterpillar has been found feeding on
This caterpillar pupated in cocoon formed on a twig, smoothly tapering each end to blend with the twig, and covered with bits of grey bark and tiny strips of orange wood.
The adult moth has fawn forewings, each with a blotchy pattern, and an elongated dark mark near the middle. The hindwings are white, shading to grey at the wingtips. The moth has a wingspan of about 3 cms.
The species is found over most of the southern half of Australia, including
Further reading :
Peter Marriott,
Moths of Victoria - Part 2,
Tiger Moths and Allies - NOCTUOIDEA (A),
Entomological Society of Victoria, 2009, pp. 32-33.
A. Jefferis Turner,
A revision of the Australian Nolidae (Lepidoptera),
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland,
Volume 55 (1944), p. 48.
 caterpillar |  butterflies |  Lepidoptera |  moths |  caterpillar |
(updated 3 July 2013, 22 May 2023)