Cryptophasa aglaodes

Cryptophasa aglaodes (Lower, 1893)
(previously known as Cryptophaga aglaodes)
XYLORYCTIDAE, GELECHIOIDEA

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

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

The Caterpillars of this species have been found feeding on

Drooping Sheoak ( Allocasuarina verticillata, CASUARINACEAE ).

The adult moth has pale brown forewings, each sometimes with up to four black dots in midwing, and an arc of black dots around the margin. The hindwings are white. The body is off-white, except for a rusty-brown saddle halfway along the abdomen. The wingspan of the females is about 5 cms. The wingspan of the males is about 4 cms.

The species has been found in

Western Australia,

Northern Territory,

Queensland, and

South Australia.

Further reading :

Ian McMillan,
Cryptophasa aglaodes,
Xyloryctine Moths of Australia,
Blog, Tuesday, September 21, 2010.

Oswald B. Lower,
New Australian Lepidoptera,
Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia,
Volume 17 (1893), pp. 171-172.