Philobota partitella (Walker, 1864)
(previously known as Oecophora partitella)
Philobota arabella Group
PHILOBOTA GROUP
OECOPHORINAE,   OECOPHORIDAE,   GELECHIOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Philobota partitella
(Photo: courtesy of Donald Hobern, Aranda, Australian Capital Territory)

These Caterpillars have been found feeding on dead leaves, especially of

  • Gum trees ( Eucalyptus species, MYRTACEAE ).

    Philobota partitella
    (Photo: courtesy of CSIRO/BIO Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

    The adult moth of this species has cream forewings which have an irregular pattern of dark brown lines. The wingspan is about 2 cms.

    The species has been found in:

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

    Philobota partitella
    underside
    (Photo: copyright of Brett and Marie Smith, Ellura Sanctuary, South Australia)


    Further Reading:

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Oecophorine Genera of Australia II: The Chezala, Philobota and Eulechria groups (Lepidoptera: Oecophoridae),
    Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera Volume 5,
    CSIRO Publishing, 1997, pp. 267, 286, 288.

    Francis Walker,
    Catalogue of Lepidoptera Heterocera,
    List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
    Part 29 (1864), pp. 683-684.


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    (updated 1 November 2012, 20 October 2018, 4 October 2020)