The caterpillars live in a communal shelter of foodplant leaves joined with silk. The caterpillar grows to a length of about 3 cms.

pupa, drawing by John Lewin, listed as Tortrix australana,
Prodromus Entomology, Natural History of Lepidopterous Insects of New South Wales,
London : T. Bensley (1805), Plate 17,
image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Smithsonian Libraries.

It pupates in its shelter.

male
(Photo: courtesy of Aila Keto, Springbrook, Queensland)

The adult moths have grey wings with rusty brown markings. The females have a more cryptic pattern than the males.

female
(Photo: courtesy of Aila Keto, Springbrook, Queensland)

The moths of both sexes have a wingspan of about 3 cms.

female, drawing by John Lewin, listed as Tortrix australana,

male, drawing by John Lewin, listed as Tortrix australana,
Prodromus Entomology, Natural History of Lepidopterous Insects of New South Wales,
London : T. Bensley (1805), Plate 17,
image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Smithsonian Libraries.

The species occurs over south-eastern Australia, including

underside
(Photo: courtesy of Aila Keto, Springbrook, Queensland)

Further reading :

Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia,
Melbourne University Press, 1990, pp. 32, 278.

John William Lewin,
Prodromus Entomology,
Natural History of Lepidopterous Insects of New South Wales,
London : T. Bensley (1805), p. 13, and also Plate 17.

Pat and Mike Coupar,
Flying Colours, New South Wales University Press, Sydney 1992, p. 90.

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(updated 25 January 2009, 7 March 2023)