Mnesampela lenaea Meyrick, 1892
Rippled Gum Moth
DIPTYCHINI,   ENNOMINAE,   GEOMETRIDAE,   GEOMETROIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Mnesampela lenaea
(Photo: courtesy of Ian Common, from Moths of Australia)

These caterpillars are speckled brown with red-edged pale dots. There is a knob on the back of the second abdomenal segment. They feed on the leaves of:

  • Gum Trees ( Eucalyptus species, MYRTACEAE ).

    They construct a shelter, in which they live, of leaves joined by silk.

    Mnesampela lenaea
    female
    (Photo: courtesy of John Bromilow, Ainslie, Australian Capital Territory)

    The adult moths are grey, with dark speckles, and two vague submarginal dark lines across each forewing. The grey turns to brown in dead specimens. Each forewing has a recurved margin giving it a hooked tip, which is more pronounced in the female. The wingspan is about 4 cms. The female antennae are thread-like. The male antennae have short pectinations.

    Mnesampela lenaea
    male
    (Photo: courtesy of Marilyn Hewish, Moths of Victoria: Part 5)

    The species has been found in:

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

    Mnesampela lenaea
    underside
    (Photo: courtesy of Donald Hobern, Aranda, Australian Capital Territory)


    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia
    Melbourne University Press, 1990, pl. 26.7, p. 364.

    Marilyn Hewish,
    Moths of Victoria: Part 5, Satin Moths and Allies - GEOMETROIDEA (A),
    Entomological Society of Victoria, 2014, pp. 32-33.

    Edward Meyrick,
    Revision of Australian Lepidoptera: V,
    Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales,
    Series 2, Volume 6, Part 4 (1892), p. 657, No. 91.


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    (updated 19 June 2010, 8 October 2013, 11 January 2016, 27 April 2020, 3 March 2021)