Porela subfasciata (Walker, 1855) Fasciated Porela (previously known as Sinaga barnardi) LASIOCAMPINAE,   LASIOCAMPIDAE,   BOMBYCOIDEA

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

male
(Photo: courtesy of Donald Hobern, Blackheath, New South Wales)

The moth is brown with wiggly white bands across each wing. The forewings each have a prominent white spot near the middle, and an irregular submarginal line of black spots. The femur and tibia of the legs are covered in white hair. The tarsi are striped black and white. The sexes are quite similar, except in size. The male moths have a wingspan of about 3 cms. The female moths have a wingspan of about 4 cms. The males are inclined to lift the hairy tip of the abdomen, presumably to emit pheromones to attract females.

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

The species has been found in:

Tasmania.

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

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Further reading :

Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia,
Melbourne University Press, 1990, fig. 39.8, p. 390.

Peter Marriott,
Moths of Victoria - Part 1,
Silk Moths and Allies - BOMBYCOIDEA,
Entomological Society of Victoria, 2008, pp. 12-13.

Francis Walker,
Lepidoptera Heterocera,
List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
Part 4 (1855), pp. 855-856, No. 1.

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(updated 27 January 2011, 13 February 2019, 15 March 2021)