Hydriris ornatalis (Duponchel, 1832)
 (previously known as Asopia ornatalis)
SPILOMELINAE,   CRAMBIDAE,   PYRALOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley


(Photo: courtesy of Donald Hobern, Mission Beach, Queensland)

These Caterpillars seem to feed on the foliage of any plant. For example: they have been found on

  • Sweet Potato ( Ipomoea batatas, CONVOLVULACEAE ),
  • Red Wattle ( Acacia monticola, MIMOSACEAE ),
  • Devil's Thorn ( Emex spinosa, POLYGONACEAE ), and
  • Apple ( Malus pumila, ROSACEAE ).


    male, drawing by Philogène Auguste Joseph Duponchel, listed as Asopia ornatalis    ,
    in J.B. Godart & P.A.J. Duponchel: Histoire naturelle des Lépidoptères ou Papillons de France,
    Volume 8, Part 2 (1827), Plate CCXXIII, fig 8,
    image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Smithsonian Libraries.

    The adult moth is grey and brown, with an irregular white patch near the middle of each wing. There are two dark dorsal spots on some of the abdominal segments. The moth has a wingspan of about 2 cms.

    The species has been found across the world, including

  • Cook Islands,
  • Greece,
  • Spain,
  • Taiwan,
  • USA,
  • Zambia,

    as well as in Australia in

  • Western Australia,
  • Northern Territory,
  • Queensland, and
  • New South Wales.

    Further reading :

    Philogène Auguste Joseph Duponchel,
    Pyralites,
    in J.B. Godart & P.A.J. Duponchel: Histoire naturelle des Lépidoptères ou Papillons de France,
    Volume 8, Part 2 (1827), p. 207, and also Plate 223, fig 8.

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    (written 3 April 2013, updated 27 November 2020)