Uzucha humeralis Walker, 1864
XYLORYCTIDAE,   GELECHIOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

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

The Caterpillar of this species feeds on the bark of various Gum Trees ( MYRTACEAE ), including :

  • Poplar Gum ( Eucalyptus platyphylla ),
  • Spotted Gum ( Eucalyptus maculata ), and
  • various Flaky Barks ( Angophora species ).

    making a gallery which it covers with brown silk and frass.

    Uzucha humeralis
    female
    (Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

    The adult moths have grey-brown forewings, often with a dark dot near the middle of each one. The hindwings of the female are black fading to pale yellow at the margins. The hindwings of the male can be similar to those of the female, or just plain yellow. The upper side of the abdomen has alternate bands of black and orange. The moths have a wing span of about 5 cms.

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

    The species has been found in

  • Northern Territory,
  • Queensland, and
  • New South Wales.

    Uzucha humeralis
    underside, male
    (Photo: courtesy of Graeme Cocks, Townsville, Queensland)

    Note that Walker's type specimen came from Brisbane, so that specimens from areas in the Tropics may be misidentified, and actually be Uzucha borealis, as both species show variable colouration. But Walker and Turner distingished their species by colour, so that Uzucha humeralis should also be the darker species.


    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia,
    Melbourne University Press, 1990, fig. 23.6, p. 228.

    Ian McMillan,
    Uzucha, Xyloryctine Moths of Australia,
    Blog, Thursday, July 1, 2010.

    Francis Walker,
    Tortricites & Tineites,
    List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
    Part 29 (1863), p. 826, No. 70.


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    (written 12 January 2002, updated 8 October 2012, 4 May 2019, 13 September 2020)