| Lantana Leaftier Moth (one synonym : Asopia dircealis Walker, 1859) SPILOMELINAE, CRAMBIDAE, PYRALOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
(Photo: courtesy of
Alan Fletcher Research Station, Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines)
This caterpillar is green with a brown head. It constructs and lives in a shelter of a folded leaf of its foodplant. The caterpillar grows to a length of about 2 cms.
It is a native of the Americas and the Caribbean, but was introduced deliberately into Australia to control its foodplant :
The adult moth is yellowish brown with several dark lines across each wing. The moth has a wingspan of about 2 cms.
The moth has been noted in
and in Australia: the moth may now be found in :
Further reading :
Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia,
Melbourne University Press, 1990, p. 72.
Achille Guenée,
Deltoïdes et Pyralites,
in Boisduval & Guenée :
Histoire naturelle des insectes; spécies général des lépidoptères,
Volume 9, Part 8 (1854), pp. 201-202, No. 149.
 caterpillar |  butterflies |  Lepidoptera |  moths |  caterpillar |
(written 2 February 2013)