They pupate in a tough cocoon on the tree trunk, and camouflage it with bits of bark. When the adult is ready to emerge, it exudes fluid to weaken one end of the cocoon, making it easier to break through it.

(Photo: courtesy of Aila Keto, Springbrook, Queensland)

The adult moths of this species have forewings which are white each with one row of black-edged blue spots, and several rows of black spots of various shapes.

(Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

The blue fades to grey in museum specimens. The hindwings are white with variable dark bands, and black and white chequered edges.

female, playing dead, showing underside, about to lay an egg
(Photo: courtesy of Aila Keto, Springbrook, Queensland)

Both sexes have feathery antennae. The moths have a wingspan of about 6.5 cms. When threatened, the moths tend to lie down and curl up.

female about to lay an egg
(Photo: courtesy of Aila Keto, Springbrook, Queensland)

The spherical eggs are laid singly on a leaf of a foodplant, and are white with a black dot in the middle with a dark ring around it.

The species has been found in :

drawing by Harriet and Helena Scott, listed as Andria australis,
Australian Lepidoptera, Volume 1 (1864), Plate 5,
image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Australian Museum.

Further reading :

Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia,
Melbourne University Press, 1990, pls. 17.5, 30.4, p. 421.

Harriet, Helena, and Alexander W. Scott,
Australian Lepidoptera and their Transformations,
Australian Lepidoptera,
Volume 1 (1864), pp. 16-17, and also Plate 5.

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(updated 12 May 2013, 17 November 2019, 6 February 2021, 20 April 2022)