Synemon jcaria R. Felder 1874
Reddish-orange Sun Moth
 CASTNIIDAE,   SESIOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

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

The Caterpillars of this species differ from those of most other Synemon species in that they feed inside the culm of the foodplant at ground level, rather than on the roots underground. They feed on plants such as

  • Scented Matrush ( Lomandra effusa, ASPARAGACEAE ).

    Synemon jcaria
    drawing by Rudolf Felder, Zoologischer Theil    ,
    Reise der Osterreichischen Fregatte Novara,
    Band 2, Abtheilung 2 (1874), Plate LXXIX, fig. 6,
    image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Smithsonian Libraries.

    The adult moths have brown forewings, each with two large pale spots. The hindwings are reddish-orange with brown markings.

    The species has been found in

  • Victoria,
  • South Australia, and
  • Western Australia.

    The species is considered to be vulnerable due to habitat destruction and the fact that the females are poor flyers.

    Further reading :

    Rudolf Felder & Alois F. Rogenhofer,
    Zoologischer Theil,
    Reise der Osterreichischen Fregatte Novara,
    Band 2, Abtheilung 2 (5) (1875), p. 9, and also Plate 79, fig. 6.

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    (updated 3 February 2005, 23 April 2013, 26 November 2015, 5 February 2016, 10 April 2017, 9 September 2019, 30 July 2021)