Syringoseca mimica

Syringoseca mimica (Meyrick, 1888)
(previously known as Heliocausta mimica)
WINGIA GROUP, OECOPHORINAE, OECOPHORIDAE, GELECHIOIDEA

Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

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

These Caterpillars live in a shelter constructed by joining two or three leaves of the foodplant with silk and frass. The caterpillars have been found feeding on

Gum Trees ( Eucalyptus species, MYRTACEAE ).

For pupation, the caterpillar constructs a cylindrical case by cutting a piece of leaf and rolling it up. The case has a length of about 1.5 cms. The caterpillar disconnects the case from the tree so that it drops to the ground. The caterpillar then firmly attaches it to a nearby object.

(Photo: courtesy of Graeme Cocks, Townsville, Queensland)

The adult moths of this species have variable brown forewings with darker patches and speckles. The wingspan is about 2 cms.

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

The species has been found along the east coast of Australia in :

Queensland,

New South Wales,

Australian Capital Territory,

Victoria,

Tasmania,

South Australia, and

Western Australia.

Further reading :

Ian F.B. Common,
Oecophorine Genera of Australia I: The Wingia Group (Lepidoptera: Oecophoridae),
Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera Volume 3,
CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 1994, pp. 24, 278-282.

Edward Meyrick,
Descriptions of Australian Micro-Lepidoptera. XIV. Oecophoridae (continued),
Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales,
Series 2, Volume 2, Part 4 (1888), p. 934.

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(updated 16 September 2013, 10 January 2015, 4 November 2020)