Compsotropha selenias Meyrick, 1884
 WINGIA GROUP,   OECOPHORINAE,   OECOPHORIDAE,   GELECHIOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

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

The Caterpillars of this species are off-white and sluggish. They live in a shelter consisting of foodplant leaves joined with silk, lined with a waxy white powder. The caterpillars feed on various species of

  • Gum Trees ( Eucalyptus species, MYRTACEAE ).

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

    The adult moth has white forewings, each with a dark spot near the middle, and two dark brown stripes, one broad and one narrow. The hindwings are yellow. The wingspan is about 2 cms.

    The species has been found in:

  • 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. 360-364.

    Edward Meyrick,
    Descriptions of Australian Micro-Lepidoptera,
    Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales,
    Volume 8 (1884), p. 512.

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    (updated 1 November 2012, 9 October 2013, 10 January 2015, 4 May 2019, 3 December 2020)