Eutane terminalis

Eutane terminalis Walker, 1854
Banded Lichen Moth
(one synonym: Comarchis gradata Lucas, 1890)
LITHOSIINI, ARCTIINAE, EREBIDAE, NOCTUOIDEA

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

Eutane terminalis eggs
(Photo: Don Herbison-Evans, Sydney, New South Wales)

This Caterpillar hatches from a patch of about 80 grey eggs laid on a sheltered wall or rock.

(Photo: courtesy of Michael Gordon, Sydney, New South Wales)

The caterpillar is dark grey and yellow, with a tuft of hair protruding sideways from each segment. The caterpillars live communally, sheltering in a crevice by day, and feeding by night. They appear to feed on:

Lichen.

(Photo: courtesy of Michael Gordon, Sydney, New South Wales)

They grow rather slowly: after nearly 12 months reaching a length of about 1.5 cms.

(Photo: Don Herbison-Evans, Sydney, New South Wales)

They pupate in a mass of adjacent cocoons in a crevice.

(Photo: Don Herbison-Evans, Sydney, New South Wales)

The individual pupae are very decorative, with orange and black markings.

(Specimen: courtesy of Vanessa Mack, Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

The moth emerges after about a fortnight in summer or several months across winter. It is small, and black and yellow, with a wingspan of about 1.5 cms.

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

The species occurs in:

Queensland, and

New South Wales.

(Photo: Don Herbison-Evans, Sydney, New South Wales)

Further reading :

Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia, Melbourne University Press, 1990, pl. 18.17, pp. 70, 437.

Francis Walker,
Lepidoptera Heterocera,
List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
Part 2 (1854), p. 531, No. 1.

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(updated 18 July 2012, 23 October 2024)