Paradestolmia nigrolinea (T.P. Lucas, 1895)
(one synonym: Pheressaces spirucha, Turner, 1903)
NOTODONTINAE,   NOTODONTIDAE,   NOCTUOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Paradestolmia nigrolinea
female
Photo: courtesy of Buck Richardson, from
Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art

The adult moths of this species are dimorphic. The females generally have grey forewings with three wavy black lines across each one. The hindwings are off-white. The wingspan of the female is about 5 cms.

Paradestolmia nigrolinea
female
(Photo: courtesy of Paul Kay)

The males also have grey forewings, but each has a pattern if blurred lines and patches. The males have antennae that are more feathery than those of the females. The males are smaller with a wingspan of about 4cms.

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

This species occurs in :

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

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

    Some males have both patches and the three transeverse lines.

    Paradestolmia nigrolinea
    male
    (Photo: courtesy of Paul Kay)


    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia,
    Melbourne University Press, 1990, fig. 42.10, p. 420.

    Thomas P. Lucas,
    Australian Lepidoptera : thirty new species,
    Transactions of the Natural History Society of Queensland,
    Volume 1 (1895), p. 107.

    Buck Richardson,
    Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art,
    LeapFrogOz, Kuranda, 2015, p. 175.


    previous
    back
    caterpillar
    Australian
    Australian Butterflies
    butterflies
    Australian
    home
    Lepidoptera
    Australian
    Australian Moths
    moths
    next
    next
    caterpillar

    (updated 5 September 2008, 3 June 2017, 10 August 2021)