![]() | (one synonym : Pterophorus aquila Meyrick, 1908) PTEROPHORINAE, PTEROPHORIDAE, PTEROPHORIOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Debbie Matthews & Stella Crossley |
This Caterpillar is buff, with sparse hairs, and two thorn-like spines at the tip of the abdomen. It has a brown head and tail, and it also has a brown spiracle on each side of each abdominal segment.
The caterpillar was imported from Florida into Australia to control the weed:
The caterpillar is also reported to feed on various other ASTERACEAE, including:
The caterpillar grows to a length of about 1.5 cms.
The adult moth is pale brown with a prominent dark dot on the hind margin of the foremost lobe. There is an arc of dark dots around the forewing margin. The moth has a wingspan of about 3 cms.
The species occurs naturally in
but now can also be found in Australia in
Further reading :
Edward Meyrick,
Notes and descriptions of Pterophoridae and Orneodidae,
Transactions of The Entomological Society of London,
1907, p. 503.
![]() caterpillar | ![]() butterflies | ![]() Lepidoptera | ![]() moths | ![]() caterpillar |
(updated 3 May 2011)