Thalaina inscripta Walker, 1855
Mitre Satin Moth
(one synonym : Plusargyria principaria Herrich-Schaffer, 1855)
DIPTYCHINI,   ENNOMINAE,   GEOMETRIDAE,   GEOMETROIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Cathy Byrne & Stella Crossley

Thalaina inscripta
(Photo: copyright Catherine J. Young)

These caterpillars are green, with a dark dorsal line, and two yellow dorsal spots on the first abdominal segment.

Thalaina inscripta
(Photo: copyright Catherine J. Young)

The adult moths are silky white, with a bold network of rusty brown lines outlined in black on each forewing, and a rusty mark on the margin of each hindwing.

Thalaina inscripta
(Photo: copyright Catherine J. Young)

The wingspan is about 5 cms.

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

The eggs are pale green and nearly spherical. They are covered in microscopic pits, and laid in irregular clusters.

Thalaina inscripta
eggs, magnified
(Photo: copyright Catherine J. Young)

Specimens have been caught in

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


    Further reading :

    Marilyn Hewish,
    Moths of Victoria: Part 5 - Satin Moths and Allies - GEOMETROIDEA (A),
    Entomological Society of Victoria, 2014, pp. 2, 19, 30-31.

    Peter B. McQuillan,
    An overview of the Tasmanian geometrid moth fauna (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) and its conservation status,
    Journal of Insect Conservation,
    Volume 8 (2004), Parts 2-3, pp. 209-220.

    Francis Walker,
    Lepidoptera Heterocera,
    List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
    Part 3 (1855), p. 661, No. 3.

    Catherine J. Young,
    Characterisation of the Australian Nacophorini and a Phylogeny for the Geometridae from Molecular and Morphological Data,
    Ph.D. thesis, University of Tasmania, 2003.


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    (updated 6 May 2010, 7 June 2014, 3 March 2021)