Genduara acedesta (Turner, 1911)
Painted Clear Winged Snout Moth
 (one synonym : Sitina cinyra Swinhoe, 1917)
LASIOCAMPINAE,   LASIOCAMPIDAE,   BOMBYCOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Genduara acedesta
(Photo: courtesy of Steve Williams, Moths of Victoria - Part 1)

This is a brown Caterpillar covered with curved flattened hairs, which are long at the front, back, and sides of the body. There is a pale triangular mark on the back near abdominal segment five. Early instars have two red marks on the thorax.

Genduara acedesta
(Photo: courtesy of Steve Williams, Moths of Victoria - Part 1)

The caterpillar has been found feeding on the leaves of:

  • Mistletoe ( LORANTHACEAE ),
  • Cherry Ballart ( Exocarpus cupressiformis, SANTALACEAE ), and
  • Sweet Quandong ( Santalum acuminatum, SANTALACEAE ).

    Genduara acedesta
    pupa
    (Photo: courtesy of Steve Williams, Moths of Victoria - Part 1)

    The caterpillar grows to a length of about 5 cms. The pupa is brown.

    Genduara acedesta
    female
    (Photo: copyright of Uwe Path, Alice Springs, Northern Territory)

    The male and female moths are dark grey, with white markings on the forewings, and a white zig-zag stripe across each hindwing.

    Genduara acedesta
    male
    (Photo: courtesy of Ken Harris, in Morwell Park, Victoria)

    The thorax of the males is black whereas that of the females is white with dark marks. The abdomen is black, with a white anal tuft. The wingspan of the males is about 2 cms. That of the females is about 3 cms.

    Genduara acedesta
    female
    (Photo: courtesy of Peter Marriott, Moths of Victoria - Part 1)

    Genduara acedesta
    male
    (Photo: courtesy of Peter Marriott, Moths of Victoria - Part 1)

    The eggs are oval and smooth, and laid in an irregular array. They have a diameter of about 1 mm. The eggs are a speckled fawn, with pale circular markings

    Genduara acedesta
    (Photo: courtesy of Steve Williams, Moths of Victoria - Part 1)

    The species occurs across Australia, including

  • Northern Territory,
  • Queensland,
  • New South Wales,
  • Victoria,
  • Tasmania,
  • South Australia, and
  • Western Australia.

    Genduara acedesta
    female
    (Photo: copyright of Uwe Path, Alice Springs, Northern Territory)

    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia,
    Melbourne University Press, 1990, pls. 12.11, 12.12, p. 391.

    Peter B. McQuillan, Jan A. Forrest, David Keane, & Roger Grund,
    Caterpillars, moths, and their plants of Southern Australia,
    Butterfly Conservation South Australia Inc., Adelaide (2019), p. 90.

    Peter Marriott,
    Moths of Victoria - Part 1,
    Silk Moths and Allies - BOMBYCOIDEA    ,
    Entomological Society of Victoria, 2008, pp. 14-15.

    A. Jefferis Turner,
    Studies in Australian Lepidoptera.,
    Annals of the Queensland Museum,
    Volume 10 (1911), p. 94.

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    (updated 22 December 2009, 18 April 2018, 12 October 2019, 18 March 2021, 1 April 2022)