Croker's Frother (formerly known as Euprepia crokeri) ARCTIINI, ARCTIINAE, EREBIDAE, NOCTUOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
(Photo: Geoff Byrne,
Kununurra, Western Australia)
The adult moth of this species has grey-brown wings with large areas of transparency. The bases of the forewings are white. The head and thorax are white with black dots. The legs and abdomen are red. The moth has a wingspan of about 5 cms.
The moth has an amazing "frothing" defence mechanism, shared by other moths of the genus Amerila. When disturbed, it exudes a frothy yellow fluid from glands beside the eyes, and makes a sizzling noise!
The species is found in :
Further reading :
David Carter,
Butterflies and Moths,
Collins Eyewitness Handbooks, Sydney 1992, p. 277.
Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia,
Melbourne University Press, 1990, p. 434.
Peter Hendry,
The Australian Arctiid Moths (Lepidoptera: Noctuoidea: Erebidae)
with emphasis on Creatonotos Gangis,
Butterflies and Other Invertebrates Club,
Metamorphosis Australia,
Issue 65 (June 2012), pp. 12-13.
Graham McDonald,
Weird and Wonderful Moths,
Butterflies and Other Invertebrates Club,
Metamorphosis Australia,
Issue 78 (September 2015), pp. 11-15, fig. 12.
William Sharp Macleay,
Annulosa,
in Philip Parker King :
Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia,
Volume 2 (1826), Appendix B, pp. 465-466, No. 169.
caterpillar | butterflies | Lepidoptera | moths | caterpillar |
(updated 12 September 2011, 8 July 2024)