Bathromelas hyaloscopa (Meyrick & Lower, 1907)
Buloke Bagworm
(formerly known as Plutorectis hyaloscopa)
OIKETICINAE, PSYCHIDAE,   TINEOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Bathromelas hyaloscopa
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.

Bathromelas hyaloscopa
case with four sticks attached
(Photo: courtesy of Eathan Beaver, Warwick, Queensland)

The larva has a chitinous head and thorax with black and white markings.

Bathromelas hyaloscopa
(Photo: courtesy of Eathan Beaver, Leyburn, Queensland)

The case is usually hung vertically on a tree trunk. The caterpillars have been found feeding on

  • Buloke (Allocasuarina luehmannii, CASUARINACEAE).

    Bathromelas hyaloscopa
    (Photo: courtesy of Eathan Beaver, Warwick, Queensland)

    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

  • Queensland,
  • New South Wales,
  • Victoria, and
  • South Australia.


    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.


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    (written 29 April 2023, updated 18 July 2024)