(Photo: courtesy of Michael Manning)

in Sydney gardens. They are black with yellow spots, and a thin spine on its tail. As they walk, this spine does a cute wiggle. The head and thorax are rather narrower than the abdomen. Late instars develop yellow bands between segments.

(Photo: courtesy of Clint Siggins, Newcastle)

The Caterpillars have also been found feeding on a wide variety of other plants, including :

(Photo: courtesy of Simon Hunt)

(Photo: courtesy of Genevieve Schebeck)

(Photo: courtesy of David Lewis)

However, in captivity, they quite happily consume and thrive on:

They grow to a length of about 7 cms.

(Photo: courtesy of Catriona Coote, Sydney)

The Caterpillars pupate in a sparse dark cocoon in the leaf litter on the soil near the food plant. The pupa has a length of about 4 cms.

(Photo: copyright Lyn Finn,
Hunter Region School of Photography in Newcastle,
Macquarie Hills, New South Wales)

The adult moth is brown, with a light stripe edged with dark brown extending from the inner margin to the tip of each fore wing. It also has a pair of white stripes running along its back from its nose to its tail.

(Photo: courtesy of Merlin Crossley)

The species is found as various subspecies across most of south-east Asia, from India to Australia, including :

(Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

Further reading :

Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia, Melbourne University Press, 1990, pls. 16.9, 29.10, 29.11, p. 415.

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