Nisista notodontaria Walker, 1860
Annulus Crest-moth
(one synonym : Vunga delineata Walker, 1865)
DIPTYCHINI,   ENNOMINAE,   GEOMETRIDAE,   GEOMETROIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Cathy Byrne & Stella Crossley

Nisista notodontaria
(Photo: copyright Cathy Byrne)

These caterpillars are black with red and white stripes. They have sparse stiff black hairs. The caterpillars feed on a variety of plants.

Nisista notodontaria
male
(Photo: copyright Cathy Byrne)

The adult moths are grey or brown with complex dark markings. At rest, the moths hold their forewings folded over the hindwings. The males have bipectinate antennae. The females have thread-like antennae. The wingspan is about 3 cms.

Nisista notodontaria
male
(Photo: copyright Cathy Byrne)

The species has been found in

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

    Nisista notodontaria
    female
    (Photo: courtesy of Marilyn Hewish, Moths of Victoria: Part 5)

    The eggs are oval and finely dimpled. Initially they are pale yellowish green, later becoming red as hatching approaches.

    Nisista notodontaria
    eggs, magnified
    (Photo: copyright Cathy Byrne)


    Further reading :

    Marilyn Hewish,
    Moths of Victoria: Part 5 - Satin Moths and Allies - GEOMETROIDEA (A),
    Entomological Society of Victoria, 2014, pp. 26-27.

    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,
    Geometrites,
    List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
    Part 21 (1860), p. 294, No. 1.

    Cathy Byrne,
    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 18 May 2005, 28 February 2021)