The caterpillars are hairless, and live in a silk web constructed under a leaf.

Pupation occurs in a crevice on the trunk or a branch of the host plant. The pupa has grooves lined with yellow hairs.

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

The adult moths have white forewings, with a pattern of black dots. The hindwings are grey, fading to white at the base. The abdomen is yellow with black bands, and has a tuft of yellow hairs at the tip. The male moths are unusual in also having a tuft of hair on each antenna. The wingspan of the moths is about 2.5 cms.

The eggs are flat and scale-like. They are laid singly on foodplant leaves.

The species may be found over most of eastern Australia, including:

Further reading :

Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia,
Melbourne University Press, 1990, Pl. 5.2, p. 248.

Edward Meyrick,
Descriptions of new Lepidoptera,
Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales,
Series 2, Volume 1, Part 4 (1887), p. 1045.

Jerry A. Powell,
Taxonomy and geographical relationships of Australian Ethmiid moths (Lepidoptera : Gelechioidea),
Australian Journal of Zoology,
Supplementary Series 33, 1985, Volume 112, pp. 1-58.

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(updated 2 October 2012, 30 March 2019, 7 May 2021)