Spotted Gum Moth (previously known as Amydona guttularis) LASIOCAMPINAE, LASIOCAMPIDAE, BOMBYCOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
(Photo: courtesy of S. Williams,
Moths of Victoria: Part 1)
The Caterpillars of this species are brown. sometimes mottled, and sometimes plain brown.
The caterpillars have a pair of erectable fleshy howns behind the head, and a floppy knob on the tail. When threatened, the caterpillar curls its head under its body, and displays a pair black and pale blue bands behind the head.
The caterpillars have been recorded feeding on the foliage of of various members of MYRTACEAE, including
The caterpillars pupate in a papery white cocoon between foodplant leaves.
The adult moths have brown forewings with dark wiggly transverse lines and arcs of spots. The hindwings are a streaky orange.
The males are smaller than the females, but have a similar coloration. The wingspan of the males is about 4 cms. The wingspan of the females is about 6 cms.
The males have forewings that have a recurved margins, and have feathery antennae. The females have forewings with convex margins, and have thread-like antennae.
The moths have a pale patch under the hindwing, which can be used to distinguish them from Entometa fervens.
The species is found over much of Australia, including:
The eggs are small flattened spheres with a width of about 1 mm. They are pale brown mottled with white, and have brown tips. They are laid in irregular arrays of a dozen or so.
Further reading :
Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia,
Melbourne University Press, 1990, pl. 12.13, p. 390.
Peter Marriott,
Moths of Victoria - Part 1,
Silk Moths and Allies - BOMBYCOIDEA,
Entomological Society of Victoria, 2008, pp. 10-11.
Francis Walker,
Catalogue of Lepidoptera Heterocera,
List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
Part 6 (1855), pp. 1413-1414, No. 2.
caterpillar | butterflies | Lepidoptera | moths | caterpillar |
(updated 10 April 2011, 9 February 2017, 9 November 2019, 21 August 2020)