| Zeller's Midget (previously known as Lithocolletis messaniella) LITHOCOLLETINAE, GRACILLARIIDAE, GRACILLARIOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
leaf mined by caterpillar, drawing by H. T. Stainton,
The Natural History of the Tineina,
Volume II, Lithocolletis, Part I (1857), Plate IV, fig. 2b.
This Caterpillar is off-white, with a yellow tapering abdomen having a dark dorsal line. The head and prothorax are dark brown.
The caterpillars mine the leaves of the host plant, feeding on plants belonging to the family FAGACEAE including :
The adult moth has forewings each with a complex pattern of gold and silver, with a black eyespot at the tip. The hindwings are dark grey with substantial fringes. The head and thorax are gold, and the abdomen is black, with a golden tufts on the head and tail. The moth has a wingspan of about 1 cm.
This species is a native of Europe, and was introduced into other parts of the world by unfortunate accident, and can now be found in :
as well as in Australia in
H. T. Stainton,
The Natural History of the Tineina, Volume II, Lithocolletis, Part I (1857),
pp. 234-245, No. 17, Plate VI, fig. 2.
Paul Zborowski and Ted Edwards,
A Guide to Australian Moths,
CSIRO Publishing, 2007, p. 6.
Philipp C. Zeller,
Die Arten der Blattminierergattung Lithocolletis,
Linnaea Entomologica,
Volume 1 (1846), pp. 221-222, No. 21, and also
Figure 23.
 caterpillar |  butterflies |  Lepidoptera |  moths |  caterpillar |
(updated 11 September 2013, 4 April 2018, 5 April 2021, 27 April 2022)