Scoliacma bicolora (Boisduval, 1832)
Red Footman
(one synonym : Lithosia rubrata Hampson, 1900)
LITHOSIINI,   ARCTIINAE,   EREBIDAE,   NOCTUOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Scoliacma bicolora
(Photo: courtesy of Laura Levens, Upper Beaconsfield, Victoria)

This Caterpillar has been observed feeding on :

  • Liverworts ( MARCHANTIOPHYTA ),
  • Mosses ( Pottia species, POTTIACEAE ), and
  • Lichens ( MYCOPHYCOPHYTA ).

    Scoliacma bicolora
    (Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

    The adult moth is half scarlet and half black. It has a wingspan of about 2.5 cms.

    Scoliacma bicolora
    (Photo: courtesy of Laura Levens, Upper Beaconsfield, Victoria)

    The species is found over most of Australia, including :

  • Queensland,
  • New South Wales,
  • Australian Capital Territory,
  • Victoria,
  • Tasmania, and
  • South Australia.


    Further reading :

    Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Dechauffour de Boisduval,
    Lepidopteres,
    in M.J. Dumont d'Urville: Faune Entomologique de L'Ocean Pacifique,
    Voyage de Decouvertes de la Corvette l'Astrolabe,
    Division 7, Part 1 (1832), p. 211, No. 4., and also Plate 3, fig. 9.

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia,
    Melbourne University Press, 1990, pls. 18.21, 31.7, p. 438.

    Peter Hendry,
    The Australian Arctiid Moths (Lepidoptera: Noctuoidea: Erebidae) with emphasis on Creatonotos Gangis,
    Metamorphosis Australia,
    Issue 65 (June 2012), pp. 1, 4-7,
    Butterflies and Other Invertebrates Club.

    Peter Marriott,
    Moths of Victoria - Part 2,
    Tiger Moths and Allies - NOCTUOIDEA (A)
    ,
    Entomological Society of Victoria, 2009, pp. 20-21, 26-27.


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    (updated 27 May 2012, 7 July 2024)