Athetis thoracica

Athetis thoracica (Moore, 1884)
(one synonym : Caradrina euthusa Hampson, 1891)
ACRONICTINAE, NOCTUIDAE, NOCTUOIDEA

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

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

This caterpillar is dark with various faint lines and mottling. It has prominent hairs and a hump on the tail. There are two white spots behind the thorax and on the tail. It has been reported to feed on a variety of plants from the families :

COMMELINACEAE,

CONVOLVULACAEAE,

FABACEAE,

MYRTACEAE,

POACEAE,

PORTULACACEAE,

SOLANACEAE, and

THEACEAE.

Pupation occurs in the soil.

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

The adult moth of this species has speckled pale brown forewings, the male having an orange area near the base. There is a narrow pale submarginal line on each forewing. The hindwings are off-white with brown veins. The wingspan is about 2.5 cms.

The eggs are hemispherical, ribbed, and green, with a red tip and a red ring around the middle.

The species has been found across south-east Asia and the south Pacific, including:

and Australia where it is found on

Norfolk Island, and in

Queensland. and

New South Wales.

drawing by Frederic Moore, listed as Radinacra thoracica,
The Lepidoptera of Ceylon, L. Reeve, London, Volume 3 (1886), Plate 148, fig. 4,
Image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Smithsonian Libraries.