Tanystola isabella (White, 1841) (one synonym: Teara suppressa Walker, 1865) THAUMETOPOEINAE,   NOTODONTIDAE,   NOCTUOIDEA

Don Herbison-Evans (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley

male
(Specimen: courtesy of Paul Kay, Wandoo State Forest, Western Australia)

The adult male and female moths of this species are different.

female
(Specimen: courtesy of Paul Kay, Wandoo State Forest, Western Australia)

The female has pale yellow forewings with four dark brown transverse bands There are also two gold spots near the middle of each forewing, and a line of white spots along each forewing margin. The hindwings of the female are yellow, each with a dark band across the middle, and a vague submarginal arc of dark chevrons. The body is brown with a golden tuft of hairs on the tail. She has a wingspan of about 5.5 cms.

male
(Specimen: courtesy of Paul Kay, Wandoo State Forest, Western Australia)

The male is brown with similar markings on the forewings to the those of the female, The hindwings of the male are dark grey with a gold margin. The male has a wingspan of about 4.5 cms.

The species is found only in the south west quarter of Australia, in

Western Australia.

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

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Further reading :

Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia,
Melbourne University Press, 1990, p. 425.

Adam White,
Notes on some insects from King George's Sound,
in George Grey:
Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in North-west and Western Australia,
London : T. & W. Boone (1841), Vol. 2, pp. 479-480.

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(updated 7 April 2013, 10 March 2020, 30 January 2021)