Cotachena histricalis Walker, (1859) (one synonym : Cotochena trinotata Butler, 1887) SPILOMELINAE,   CRAMBIDAE,   PYRALOIDEA

Don Herbison-Evans (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley

(Photo: courtesy of Black Dogto, Hong Kong)

This Caterpillar is smooth and pale green, with dark line along the back, and a pale brown head. It creates and lives in a silk shelter spun between foodplant leaves.

(Photo: courtesy of Black Dogto, Hong Kong)

The pupa is formed in the silk shelter, and is brown with a bubous cell where the moth's head develops.

(Photo: courtesy of Black Dogto, Hong Kong)

The adult moth is brown with three to five white spots on each forewing. The hindwings are white, each with a broken transverse brown line and a brown margin. The moth has a wingspan of about 2 cms.

(Specimen: courtesy of The Australian Museum)

The species has been found in south-east Asia, including

Queensland.

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

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Further reading

Francis Walker,
Pyralides,
List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
Part 18 (1859), p. 655, No. 187.

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(updated 15 February 2010, 23 February 2026)