| Scat Moth (one synonym : Cryptolechia abstersella Walker, 1864) CHEZALA GOUP OECOPHORINAE, OECOPHORIDAE, GELECHIOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
(Photo: courtesy of
Michael Bedingfield,
Tuggeranong Hill, Australian Capital Territory)
This Caterpillar feeds on the droppings of various marsupials that feed on grasses and herbaceous plants, such as Wombats and Wallabies.
The adult moth has cream forewings with variable bold dark brown markings. The hindwings are plain pale brown. The wingspan is about 1 cms.
The species has been found in south-eastern Australia, including:
Further reading :
Ian F.B. Common,
Oecophorine Genera of Australia II:
The Chezala, Philobota and Eulechria groups (Lepidoptera: Oecophoridae),
Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera Volume 5,
CSIRO Publishing, 1997, pp. 80, 87, 89-93.
Francis Walker,
Catalogue of Lepidoptera Heterocera,
List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
Part 29 (1864), p. 694.
Paul Zborowski and Ted Edwards,
A Guide to Australian Moths,
CSIRO Publishing, 2007, p. 71.
 caterpillar |  butterflies |  Lepidoptera |  moths |  caterpillar |
(updated 9 December 2009, 25 October 2018, 24 October 2020)