Ortholomia moluccana C. Felder, 1861
 NOTODONTINAE,   NOTODONTIDAE,   NOCTUOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Ortholomia moluccana
(Photo: courtesy of Ian McMillan, Imbil, Queensland)

These Caterpillars are initially green, later turning brown. They have sparse short hairs. The head has a curved black line across each eye.

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

The adult moths of this species have brown wings with a scattering of black speckles, and some dark markings along the hind margins of the forewings. Females often have a pale spot and males a dark spot in the middle of each forewing. In their natural resting posture, the moths wrap their wings around the body. The moths have a wingspan of about 4 cms.

The species has been found in

  • Papua,

    and in Australia in

  • Queensland, and
  • New South Wales.

    Further reading :

    Baron Cajetan von Felder,
    Lepidopterorum Amboinensium a Dre. L. Doleschall annis 1856-58 collectorum species novae,
    Sitzungsberichte der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien,
    Volume 43, Part 1 (1861), p. 40, No. 96.

    Graham McDonald,
    Weird and Wonderful Moths,
    Butterflies and Other Invertebrates Club
    Metamorphosis Australia,
    Issue 78 (September 2015), pp. 11-15, fig. 5.

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    (written 20 April 2015, updated 10 August 2024)