Austromartyria porphyrodes

Austromartyria porphyrodes (Turner, 1932)
(formerly known as Sabatinca porphyrodes)
MICROPTERIGIDAE, MICROPTERIGOIDEA

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

(Drawing by George Gibbs)

These caterpillars are off-white and slug-like, with four rows of warts along the body, and some sparse bristles. The caterpillars have been found in the Periphyton layers of rotten logs. The caterpillars grow to a length of about 0.4 cms.

female
(Photo : courtesy of George Gibbs, Atherton Tableland, Queensland,)

The adult moths of this species have forewings that are black with a purple iridescence, each with two white transverse bands. The hindwings are plain black with a purple iridescence. The head and thorax are brown, but densely covered in long white scales, except for a band of black scales at the back of the head. The legs are white with scattered black markings. The wingspan is about 1 cm.

The species has been found in

Queensland.

The moths have been found in large numbers clustered under the fronds of ferns, particularly Gristle Ferns (Blechnum cartilagineum).

Further reading :

George W. Gibbs,
Micropterigidae (Lepidoptera) of the Southwestern Pacific: a revision with the establishment of five new genera from Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand,
Zootaxa,
Volume 2520 (2010), pp. 7, 9-17.

A. Jefferis Turner,
New Australian Lepidoptera,
Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia,
Volume 56 (1932), p. 196.