Cyme structa (Walker, 1854)
Banded Lichen Moth
(formerly known as Pallene structa)
(also known as Lyclene structa)
LITHOSIINI,   ARCTIINAE,   EREBIDAE,   NOCTUOIDEA
  
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Graeme Cocks & Stella Crossley

Cyme structa
(Photo: courtesy of Nick Monaghan, Tewantin, Queensland)

The caterpillars of this species are black and very hairy. They have been found on and under Wallaby scats.

Cyme structa
(Photo: courtesy of Peter Marriott, Moths of Victoria - Part 2, 2nd edition)

The adult moths are dark yellow, with a number of dark brown zig-zag lines across each forewing, and a broad black margin to each hindwing. The wingspan is about 2 cms.

Cyme structa
(Photo: courtesy of Ken Harris, Mallacoota, Victoria)

The species is found in the southern half of Australia, including

  • Queensland,
  • New South Wales, and
  • Victoria.

    Cyme structa
    female laying an egg
    (Photo: courtesy of Dianne Clarke, Mapleton, Queensland)

    The eggs are white and spherical, with a diameter of about 1 mm.

    Cyme structa
    close-up of female laying an egg
    (Photo: courtesy of Dianne Clarke, Mapleton, Queensland)

    This species shows some variations in the colour and pattern of the forewings which overlap those of other species in Cyme.

    Cyme structa is readily distinguished from the others by the dark margin of the hindwing. Cyme reticulata and Cyme pyraula have plain monochromatic hindwings.

    Lyclene structa
    underside
    (Photo: courtesy of Ken Harris, Mallacoota, Victoria)


    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia, Melbourne University Press, 1990, p. 436.

    Peter Marriott,
    Moths of Victoria - Part 2, 2nd edition,
    Tiger Moths and Allies - NOCTUOIDEA (A)
    ,
    Entomological Society of Victoria, 2014, pp. 26-27.

    Francis Walker,
    Lepidoptera Heterocera,
    List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
    Part 2 (1854), p. 543.


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    (updated 5 August 2008, 23 October 2024)