| Triangle Hawk Moth (one synonym : Brachyglossa banksiae Boisduval, [1875]) SMERINTHINAE, SPHINGIDAE, BOMBYCOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
early instar with very pointed head
(Photo: courtesy of Ken Jackson, Wedderburn, New South Wales)
The caterpillars of this species lack the spike on the tail that many caterpillars in SPHINGIDAE have, but for the first 6 instars: the body tapers from a fat tail to a brown forked spike on the head. For the 7th (last) instar the pointed head is more rounded. All instars are green and covered in small warts. The last three instars have a variable set of diagonal yellow stripes, one on each side of each abdominal segment.
The caterpillars feed on the foliage of various species of Gum Trees (MYRTACEAE) including:
The caterpillars grow to a length of about 11 cms.
The pupa is formed in an excavated depression or chamber, depending on soil friability, down to a maximum depth of 10 cms. If near the surface, the pupa is camouflaged by debris held together in a loose cocoon. The pupa is dark brown and has a length of about 6 cms.
The adult moths have forewings that are light and dark brown with a variable wavy pattern, and hindwings that are orange with a brown hind-margin. The forewing tips are truncated.
The margins of all four wings are concave. The forewing hind-margins are concave. The female moths have a wingspan of about 14 cms. The male moths have a wingspan of about 12 cms.
The male moths have coremata which display tufts of orange hair, probably dispersing pheromones to attract females.
The species is found over much of Australia, including:
The undersides are brown with a submarginal arc of dark dots on each wing, and a dark mark halfway long each forewing costa.
The eggs are pale green and spheroidal, with a diameter of about 2.5 mm. As they approach hatching, they develop a red encircling band. The eggs are laid singly, usually on a leaf or stem of a foodplant, although in captivity, the females lay on anything. Each female normally lays over 100 eggs.
Further reading :
Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia,
Melbourne University Press, 1990, fig. 41.5, p. 412.
Edward Donovan,
General Illustration of Entomology,
An Epitome of the Natural History of the Insects of
New Holland, New Zealand, New Guinea, Otaheite and other
Islands in the Indian, Southern and Pacific Oceans,
London (1803), Part 1, pp. 138, 139, and also
Plate 33, fig. 1
H.E. Groth,
The life history of Metamimas australasiae
Donovan (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae),
The Australian Entomologist,
Volume 22, Part 3 (September 1995), pp. 91-95.
Peter Marriott,
Moths of Victoria - Part 1,
Silk Moths and Allies - BOMBYCOIDEA,
Entomological Society of Victoria, 2008, pp. 30-31.
Maxwell S. Moulds, James P. Tuttle and David A. Lane.
Hawkmoths of Australia,
Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera Series, Volume 13 (2020),
pp. 98-103, Plates 19, 75, 86.
Buck Richardson,
Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art,
LeapFrogOz, Kuranda, 2015, p. 207.
 caterpillar |  butterflies |  Lepidoptera |  moths |  caterpillar |
(updated 25 January 2010, 10 February 2023)