Agathodes ostentalis (Geyer, 1837)
Coral Tree Moth
(previously known as Perinephela ostentalis)
SPILOMELINAE,   CRAMBIDAE,   PYRALOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Agathodes ostentalis
(Photo: courtesy of David Mohn,, Chinese Christian Seminary, Hong Kong)

The Caterpillars of this species are dark brown with a yellow dorsolateral line along each side, and a pale brown head. They live in webbed shelters made with silk on the young shoots of their foodplant. They have been found feeding on the foliage of:

  • Kolkata ( Erythrina indica, FABACEAE ), and
  • Coral Tree ( Erythrina vespertillio, FABACEAE ).

    Agathodes ostentalis
    (Photo: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

    The adult moths are very attractive, with pink, brown, and white markings on the forewings, and cream coloured hindwings. The wingspan is about 3 cms. The moths have a curious resting posture, with the wings swept back, and the abdomen curled upward.

    The pheromones of this species have been determined.

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

    The species is found across south-east Asia, including :

  • Borneo,
  • China,
  • Hong Kong,
  • India,
  • Japan,
  • Sumatra,
  • Taiwan,

    and also in Australia in:

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

    Agathodes ostentalis
    underside
    (Photo: courtesy of Graeme Cocks, Townsville, Queensland)


    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia, Melbourne University Press, 1990, pls. 9.2, 26.1, pp. 354-355.

    Carl Geyer,
    in Hübner :
    Zuträge zur Sammlung Exotischer Schmetterlinge,
    Royal Entomological Society of London,
    Vol. 5 (1837), Plate 143, figs. 833-834.

    Buck Richardson,
    Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art,
    LeapFrogOz, Kuranda, 2015, p. 31.


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    (updated 6 August 2013, 27 November 2020)