Pyrausta panopealis (Walker, 1859)
Perilla Leaf Moth
 (also known as Rhoderia panopealis)
PYRAUSTINAE,   CRAMBIDAE,   PYRALOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Pyrausta panopealis
(Photo: courtesy of Buck Richardson, Kuranda, Queensland)

The caterpillars of this species have been reported feeding on:

  • Fruity Mint ( Dicerandra frutescens ),
  • Knobweed ( Hyptis capitata ), and
  • Shiso ( Perilla frutescens )

    all of LAMIACEAE.

    Pyrausta panopealis
    (Photo: courtesy of Graeme Cocks, Townsville, Queensland)

    The adult has forewings that are deep yellow, with broad ragged red-brown lines across them. The hindwings are red-brown with broad splotchy deep yellow bands across them. The moth has a wingspan of about 2 cms.

    The pheromones of this species have been determined.

    Pyrausta panopealis
    (Photo: courtesy of J.F. Landry, Canadian National Collections, & Zhaofu Yang, BIO)

    The species occurs across Asia and Australasia, including

  • Hong Kong,
  • India,
  • Japan,
  • New Guinea,
  • Thailand,

    as well as in Australia in

  • Northern Territory, and
  • Queensland.

    This species is often confused with the Amercican and African species Pyrausta phoenicealis (Hubner, 1818).

    Further reading :

    Buck Richardson,
    Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art,
    LeapFrogOz, Kuranda, 2015, p. 48.

    Francis Walker,
    Pyralides,
    List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
    Part 17 (1859), pp. 318-319, No. 19.

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    (updated 5 February 2010, 17 December 2020)