Discophlebia lucasii Rosenstock, 1885
Lucas' Stub Moth
 OENOSANDRIDAE,   NOCTUOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Discophlebia lucasii
(Photo: copyright Dave Britton, Australian Museum)

The moths of this species appear to mimic a branch where a stick has broken off, with the pale frontal region of the head being the "break". The wings of the moth are fawn. The head is pale brown. The female moths have a wingspan of about 5 cms. The males have a wingspan of about 4 cms.

Discophlebia lucasii
(Specimen : courtesy of D.R.Holmes, Moths of Victoria - Part 2)

The species is found over the southern half of Australia, including

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

    Discophlebia lucasii
    female, drawing by Rudolph Rosenstock,
    Notes on Australian Lepidoptera, with descriptions of new species,
    Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Volume 5, Part 16 (1885), Plate XI, Fig. 4,
    image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Ernst Mayr Library, Harvard University.

    The adult moths in their natural posture look very like the planthopper Platybrachys decemmacula.

    Further reading :

    Peter Marriott,
    Moths of Victoria - Part 2,
    Tiger Moths and Allies - NOCTUOIDEA (A)    ,
    Entomological Society of Victoria, 2009, pp. 6-7.

    Rudolph Rosenstock,
    Notes on Australian Lepidoptera, with descriptions of new species,
    Annals and Magazine of Natural History,
    Volume 5, Part 16 (1885), pp. 421-422, No. 419, and also Plate 11, Fig. 4.

    Paul Zborowski and Ted Edwards,
    A Guide to Australian Moths,
    CSIRO Publishing, 2007, p. 172.

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    (updated 27 January 2010, 14 November 2020)