Eulechria lunata (Turner, 1896) (formerly known as Philobota lunata) EULECHRIA GROUP OECOPHORINAE,   OECOPHORIDAE,   GELECHIOIDEA

Don Herbison-Evans, (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley

(Photo: courtesy of Peter Hendry, Sheldon, Queensland)

The Caterpillar of this species is expected to feed on dead leaves, as do others in this genus Eulechria, although different species in this genus seem each to prefer different host plants. The caterpillar probably lives in a tubular silk lined gallery, incorporating debris and frass, in amongst the dead leaves.

The caterpillar probably pupates in a larger and looser chamber at one end of the gallery.

The adult moth of this species has dirty white forewings, each with two bent dark brown transverse bands, joined by a dark brown central streak. The prothorax is dark brown, but the rest of the thorax is white. The hindwings are off-white, darkening to pale brown at the wingtips. The wingspan is about 2 cms.

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

The species may be found in

New South Wales.

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Further reading :

Ian F.B. Common,
Oecophorine Genera of Australia II:
The Chezala, Philobota and Eulechria groups (Lepidoptera: Oecophoridae),
Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera Volume 5,
CSIRO Publishing, 1997, p. 366.

A. Jefferis Turner,
Descriptions of Micro-Lepidoptera from Queensland,
Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia,
Volume 20 (1896), p. 25.

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(written 30 October 2023)