Genduara subnotata (Walker, 1869)
Clear Winged Snout Moth
 (one synonym : Sitina epipasta Swinhoe, 1917)
LASIOCAMPINAE,   LASIOCAMPIDAE,   BOMBYCOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Genduara subnotata
(Photo: courtesy of Jenny Holmes, Great Western, Victoria)

This Caterpillar is brown or grey, and very hairy. It has two black hair pencils each side of the head, which it can erect or lay down.

Genduara subnotata
(Photo: copyright of Brett and Marie Smith, at Ellura Sanctuary, South Australia)

The caterpillars have pairs of pointed black knobs on the back of each segment, which sometimes have adjacent reddish markings. The backs of abdominal segments one, five and seven are pale. There is a thin red band across the thorax. The caterpillar has been found feeding on the leaves of:

  • Mistletoe ( LORANTHACEAE ), and
  • Cherry Ballart ( Exocarpos cupressiformis, SANTALACEAE ).

    Genduara subnotata
    (Photo: courtesy of Jenny Holmes, Great Western, Victoria)

    The pupa is brown and green, with dark head and tail. It is formed in a loose white cocoon.

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

    The adult moths are grey with patterns of light and dark lines and spots. The abdomen is covered in alternate bands of brown or black and white hairs, but sometimes the white hairs are shorter and are obscured. The female has a tuft of white hairs tipped with black on the last segment. Both sexes have bipectinate antennae. The females have a wingspan of about 3 cms. The males are smaller, having a wingspan of about 2.5 cms.

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

    The species occurs over much of Australia, including:

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

    Genduara subnotata
    underside of the female
    (Photo: copyright of Brett and Marie Smith, at Ellura Sanctuary, South Australia)

    The eggs are oval with a diameter of about 1 mm. They are fawn with pale circular markings. The eggs are laid in untidy clusters in arbitrary places.

    Genduara subnotata
    eggs, magnified
    (Photo: courtesy of Peter Marriott, Moths of Victoria - Part 1)

    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia,
    Melbourne University Press, 1990, figs. 39.12, 39.13, pl. 27.15, p. 391.

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

    Francis Walker,
    Characters of undescribed Lepidoptera Heterocera,
    E.W. Janson, London, 1869, pp. 67-68, No. 10.

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    (updated 18 February 2010, 23 January 2019, 15 March 2021)