Hylaeora caustopis Tepper, 1890
Great Rough-head
(one synonym: Hyleora lacerta Druce, 1901)
NOTODONTINAE,   NOTODONTIDAE,   NOCTUOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Hylaeora caustopis
lateral view
(Photo: courtesy of Elaine McDonald, Bruny Island, Tasmania)

The Caterpillars of this species are pale green with a pale crenulated ridge running along each side of the back, often with a purple-edged white line along each side.

Hylaeora caustopis
dorsal view
(Photo: courtesy of
Elaine McDonald, Bruny Island, Tasmania)

The caterpillars are thought to feed on Gum trees, including

  • Yellow Gum ( Eucalyptus leucoxylon, MYRTACEAE ).

    Hylaeora caustopis
    male
    (Photo: courtesy of Peter Marriott, Moths of Victoria: part 2)

    The adult moth has dark brown forewings, each with a broad indistinct pale submarginal band, and sometimes with a white stripe extending from the base. The moth has pale brown hindwings with dark edges, and an orange body. The wingspan of the male is about 9 cms. The female has a wingspan of about 10 cms.

    The moths are noted for resting only a few centimetres above the ground on saplings and posts.

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

    The species is found in the southern half of Australia, including

  • New South Wales,
  • Australian Capital Territory,
  • Victoria,
  • Tasmania,
  • South Australia, and
  • Western Australia.

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


    Further reading :

    Herbert Druce,
    Descriptions of some new species of Heterocera,
    Transactions of the Entomological Society of London,
    1889, p. 78.

    Peter Marriott,
    Moths of Victoria: part 2,
    Tiger Moths and their Allies - Noctuoidea (A)
    ,
    Entomological Society of Victoria, 2009, pp. 14-15.

    Johann Gottlieb Otto Tepper,
    Part II Lepidoptera, or butterflies and moths of Adelaide,
    Common native insects of South Australia,
    Adelaide, 1890, pp. 26-27.


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    (updated 7 April 2013, 5 February 2019, 27 December 2021)