| SATURNIIDAE, BOMBYCOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
Photo: courtesy of David A. Lane, (Ted) E.D. Edwards, & Stefan Naumann, from
A revision of the genus Syntherata Maasen, 1873 (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) within Australia,
with the description of three new species, and descriptions of their life histories,
The European Entomologist, Volume 3, Part 1 (2010), pp. 17-21.
First instar caterpillars of this species are yellow with black lines and markings. Later instars are pale green with dark markings, and are covered in stiff hairs.
The caterpillars have been found feeding on trees from EUPHORBIACEAE, including
Later the caterpillars become lime-green with a yellow line along each side, and have purple tubercles each of which has a cluster of short stiff hairs.
The caterpillar pupates in an oval cocoon in a shaded area on the food plant or nearby vegetation, typically under a branch or on the south side of a trunk. Metamorphosis can take up to three years depending on climate.
The adult moths are yellow with two or more zig-zag or dotted brown lines across each wing. The forewings each have a round transparent spot in the middle, and the hindwings each have a dark spot in the middle. The moths typically have a wingspan of 8 cms.
The species occurs on
The eggs are laid in short rows, and are pale green and ovate, and have a diameter of about 1.5 mm.
Further reading:
David Lane,
A new species of Syntherata Maasen (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) from northern Australia,
Butterfly & Other Invertebrates Club Newsletter,
Number 31 (2003), pp. 6-12.
David A. Lane, (Ted) E.D. Edwards, & Stefan Naumann,
A revision of the genus Syntherata Maasen, 1873 (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) within Australia,
with the description of three new species, and descriptions of their life histories,
The European Entomologist,
Volume 3, Part 1 (2010), pp. 17-21, figs. 18, 40-53.
 caterpillar |  butterflies |  Lepidoptera |  moths |  caterpillar |
(written 10 December 2017, updated 21 April 2022)