Wingia psittacodes (Turner, 1917)
 (formerly known as Zelotechna psittacodes)
WINGIA GROUP,   OECOPHORINAE,   OECOPHORIDAE,   GELECHIOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Wingia psittacodes
(Photo: courtesy of Cathy Powers, Little Desert, Victoria)

The Caterpillars of this species are thought to feed on:

  • Tea-Tree ( Leptospermum species, MYRTACEAE ),

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

    The adult moths have brown forewings with variable pink patches near the margin, and pale yellow hindwings. Each wing has a pointed wingtip, and a smoothly rounded tornus. The wingspan is about 2 cms. The labial palps are hairy and held straight out in front of the head. The abdomen is pale yellow on top, and red underneath.

    The species has been found on the east coast of Australia, including :

  • Queensland, and
  • New South Wales, and
  • Victoria.

    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. 246, 343.

    Graham J. McDonald,
    Moths - The Weird and the Wonderful,
    Butterflies and Other Invertebrates Club,
    Metamorphosis Australia,
    Issue 68 (March 2013), pp. 13-16.

    A. Jefferis Turner,
    Studies in Australian Lepidoptera,
    Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia,
    Volume 41 (1917), pp. 103-104.

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    (written 6 August 2024, updated 22 September 2024)