Palpita austrannulata Inoue, 1997,
 SPILOMELINAE,   CRAMBIDAE,   PYRALOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Palpita austrannulata
(Photo: courtesy of Buck Richardson, Kuranda, Queensland)

The Caterpillars of similar species have been found overseas feeding on the foliage of plants in the family OLEACEAE , including :

  • Waxleaf Privet ( Ligustrum quihoui ), and
  • Golden Privet ( Ligustrum vicaryi ).

    Palpita austrannulata
    (Photo: courtesy of CSIRO/CNC/CBG Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

    The adult moth is white with a yellow costa and pale yellow patches outlined in black on the forewings. The wingspan is about 2 cms.

    The species is found in Australia in:

  • Northern Territory, and
  • Queensland.

    This species was misidentified as the south-east Asian species Palpita annulata until 1996, when the species were proved to be different.

    Further reading :

    Hiroshi Inoue,
    Revision of the genus Palpita Hübner (Crambidae, Pyraustinae) from the eastern Palaearctic, Oriental and Australian regions, Part 2: Group B,
    Tinea, Tokyo,
    Volume 15, Part 1 (1997) pp. 21-22, fig. 8.

    Buck Richardson,
    Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art,
    LeapFrogOz, Kuranda, 2015, p. 45 (misnamed Palpita annulata).

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    (updated 31 January 2013, 5 May 2025)