Ocystola paulinella

Ocystola paulinella (Newman, 1856)
(previously known as Oecophora paulinella)
WINGIA GROUP, OECOPHORINAE, OECOPHORIDAE, GELECHIOIDEA

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

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

This caterpillar lives in a shelter constructed of two overlapping leaves of its foodplant joined by silk and frass. One of the leaves is typically folded like a tent. The caterpillar feeds on the surfaces of the leaves composing its shelter. It feeds on:

various species of Gum Trees ( Eucalyptus, MYRTACEAE ).

It pupates within its shelter.

drawing by Edward Newman and G.H. Ford, listed as Oecophora paulinella,
Characters of a few Australian Lepidoptera, Collected by Mr. Thomas R. Oxley,
Transactions of the Entomological Society of London,
New Series, Volume 3 (1856), Plate XVIII, fig. 1,
image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Smithsonian Libraries.

The adult moth has white forewings with bold black markings. The hindwings are pale yellow. The wingspan is about 2 cms.

The species has been found in south-eastern Australia, including:

Queensland,

New South Wales,

Australian Capital Territory, and

Victoria.

Further reading :

Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia,
Melbourne University Press, 1990, fig. 22.6, p. 224.

Ian F.B. Common,
Oecophorine Genera of Australia I: The Wingia Group (Lepidoptera: Oecophoridae),
Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera Volume 3,
CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 1994, 24, pp. 347-352, Figs. 660-668.

Edward Newman,
Characters of a few Australian Lepidoptera, Collected by Mr. Thomas R. Oxley,
Transactions of the Entomological Society of London,
New Series, Volume 3 (1856), p. 297, and also Plate 18, fig. 1..

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(updated 1 November 2012, 13 February 2017, 27 September 2020)