Taxeotis stereospila Meyrick, 1890
Oval-spot Taxeotis
OENOCHROMINAE,   GEOMETRIDAE,   GEOMETROIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Taxeotis stereospila
(Photo: courtesy of Donald Hobern, Aranda, Australian Capital Territory)

The adult moths of this species are greyish brown. There is an oval dark spot with a pale centre near the middle of each forewing. Each of the four wings have faint marginal lines, and a dark pair of wavy lines about half way along the hind margin. In its natural posture: these dark lines on fore- and hind- wings are aligned, resembling a mouth, which with the oval spots resembling eyes gives the impression of a monster face.

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

The wingspan is about 2 cms. The males and the females in this genus both have thread-like antennae.

The species has been found in

  • New South Wales,
  • Australian Capital Territory,
  • Victoria, and
  • South Australia.

    Taxeotis stereospila
    undersides
    (Photo: courtesy of Donald Hobern, Aranda, Australian Capital Territory)


    Further reading :

    Peter Marriott,
    Moths of Victoria: Part 4,
    Emeralds and Allies - GEOMETROIDEA (B)
    ,
    Entomological Society of Victoria, 2012, pp. 16-17.

    Edward Meyrick,
    Revision of Australian Lepidoptera III,
    Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales,
    Series 2, Volume 4, Part 4 (1890), pp. 1142-1143, No. 2.


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    (updated 30 March 2013, 27 October 2017, 12 September 2020)