Lymantria antennata Walker, 1855 (one synonym : Lymantria undifera Strand, 1923) LYMANTRIINAE,   EREBIDAE,   NOCTUOIDEA

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

male
(Photo: courtesy of Buck Richardson, Kuranda, Queensland)

The male adult moth of this species has a hairy orange body with a pale plume of hairs on its tail and pale hairs on the thorax and head. The forewings are basically buff coloured, with zig-zag dark brown markings. The hindwings are pale brown. The male moth has a wingspan of about 5 cms.

female
(Photo: courtesy of Robert Ingram, DAFF and Bugwood.org)

The female is brown, and has atrophied wings, and is flightless. She has a length of about 2.5 cms.

male
(Photo: courtesy of the Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

This species has been found on the east coast of Australia in:

New South Wales.

male, underside
(Photo: courtesy of Graeme Cocks, Townsville, Queensland)

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Further reading :

Buck Richardson,
Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art,
LeapFrogOz, Kuranda, 2015, p. 111.

Francis Walker,
Lepidoptera Heterocera,
List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
Part 4 (1855), pp. 881-882, No. 19.

Paul Zborowsky & Ted Edwards,
A Guide to Australian Moths, CSIRO Press, 2007, p. 180.

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(updated 11 February 2010, 8 August 2023)