Neodiphthera excavus (Lane, 1995)
 (formerly known as Opodiphthera excavus)
SATURNIIDAE,   BOMBYCOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Neodiphthera excavus
(Photo: courtesy of Jim Kelton, Cooktown, Queensland)

The Caterpillars of this species have been found feeding on

  • Cooktown Ironwood ( Erythrophleum chlorostachys, CAESALPINIACEAE ).

    The caterpillars pupate, unusually for members of SATURNIIDAE, in a cocoon underground.

    Neodiphthera excavus
    (Photo: courtesy of Buck Richardson, Kuranda, Queensland)

    The adult moths are yellow or brown, each wing having two or three vague dark wiggly transverse lines, and a central dark-edged pale spot. The moths have a wingspan of about 10.5 cms.

    The species is found in

  • Western Australia,
  • Northern Territory, and
  • Queensland.

    Further reading :

    David A. Lane,
    A new species of Opodiphthera Wallengren (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) from northern Australia,
    Australian Entomologist,
    Vol. 22 (1995), pp. 115-122.

    Buck Richardson,
    Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art,
    LeapFrogOz, Kuranda, 2015, p. 193.

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    (written 22 January 2005, updated 23 July 2015, 7 July 2019, 12 January 2020, 20 February 2022)