Coral Tree Moth (previously known as Perinephela ostentalis) SPILOMELINAE, CRAMBIDAE, PYRALOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
(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:
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.
The species is found across south-east Asia, including :
and also in Australia in:
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.
caterpillar | butterflies | Lepidoptera | moths | caterpillar |
(updated 6 August 2013, 27 November 2020)