(one synonym : Decadarchis melanastra Meyrick, 1886) ERECHTHIINAE, TINEIDAE, TINEOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
(Photo: courtesy of
Graeme Cocks, Townsville, Queensland)
These caterpillars bore into decaying wood and plant stems. They pupate in a tough cocoon in their borehole. The pupa has a length of about 1 cm.
The adult moth of this species has white forewings, each with elongated black spots. The hindwings are grey. The wingspan is about 2 cms.
The species is found across the south Pacific, including
and in Australia in
Further reading :
Arthur G. Butler,
On a small collection of Lepidoptera from the Hawaiian Islands,
Transactions of the Entomological Society of London,
1882, p. 43-44, No. 16, Ref. 159.
Gaden S. Robinson & Ebbe S. Nielsen,
Tineid Genera of Australia,
Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera Volume 2,
CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 1993.
caterpillar | butterflies | Lepidoptera | moths | caterpillar |
(written 6 September 2012, updated 17 August 2013, 21 May 2022)