Buloke Bagworm (formerly known as Plutorectis hyaloscopa) OIKETICINAE, PSYCHIDAE, TINEOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
case with two sticks attached
(Photo: courtesy of
Eathan Beaver,
Roma, Queensland)
This Caterpillar lives in a cigar-shaped silken shelter which it covers in small bits of vegetation. To the distal half it attaches several twigs, so that they project beyond the anal end of the case.
The larva has a chitinous head and thorax with black and white markings.
The case is usually hung vertically on a tree trunk. The caterpillars have been found feeding on
The wings of the adult male moths are transparant. The males have a wingspan of about 3 cms.
The female is flightless and remains in her case. She is off-white, except for a brown head. She has a length of about 4 cms.
The species has been found inland in
Further reading :
Eathan Beaver,
Rediscovery and life history of Bathromelas hyaloscopa (Meyrick & Lower, 1907)
Lepidoptera: Psychidae: Oiketicinae,
Memoirs of the Queensland Museum,
Volume 64, p. 260
Edward Meyrick & Oswald B. Lower,
Revision of the Australian Psychidae,
Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia,
Volume 31 (1907), pp. 203-204, No. 17.
caterpillar | butterflies | Lepidoptera | moths | caterpillar |
(written 29 April 2023, updated 18 July 2024)