The caterpillar conceals itself by making and living in a shelter of silk-bowed wattle fronds. If disturbed, it will flee by wriggling backwards.

pupa extracted from the silky shelter
(Photo: courtesy of David Akers, Won Wron, Victoria)

The caterpillar grows to a length of about 2 cms. The pupa is formed in its shelter. Initially the pupa is bright green, but it turns brown after a day or so.

pupa, still attached to withered final larval skin.
(Photo: courtesy of David Akers, Won Wron, Victoria)

In summer, the pupal duration is only about a week.

(Photo: courtesy of Donald Hobern, Aranda, Australian Capital Territory)

The adults have forewings that are brown with a very variable pattern of various dark dots, bands, and patches.

(Photo: courtesy of the Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

The hindwings are pale brown with faint dark spots and bands. The head is often white. The moths have a resting shape like the outline of a bell. They have a wingspan of about 2 cms.

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

The species occurs over much of Australia, including:

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

Further reading :

Edward Newman,
Characters of a few Australian Lepidoptera, Collected by Mr. Thomas R. Oxley,
Transactions of the Entomological Society of London,
New Series, Volume III, Number 8 (1856), pp. 286-287.

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(updated 3 September 2011, 24 May 2023)