Hemibela heliotricha (Lower, 1894)
 (formerly known as Ocystola heliotricha)
WINGIA GROUP,   OECOPHORINAE,   OECOPHORIDAE,   GELECHIOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

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

The Caterpillars of this species live in a hollowed out twig which they carry around. The caterpillars have been found feeding on

  • White Peppermint (Eucalyptus pulchella, MYRTACEAE).

    The caterpillars pupate in their twig, anchoring it to a branch or convenient object.

    Hemibela heliotricha
    (Photo: courtesy of CSIRO/BIO Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

    These adult moths have dark brown wings each with a large orange basal patch on the costa. The head and body are dark brown. The wingspan is about 2 cms.

    The species has been found in :

  • Tasmania.

    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Oecophorine Genera of Australia I: The Wingia Group (Lepidoptera: Oecophoridae),
    Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera Volume 3,
    CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 1994, pp. 326-327, 329.

    Oswald B. Lower,
    Descriptions of new species of Australian Elachistidae, etc.,
    Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia,
    Volume 28 (1904), p. 168.

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    (written 15 March 2023)