Hemibela thymodes (Meyrick, 1885)
(previously known as Ocystola thymodes)
WINGIA GROUP,   OECOPHORINAE,   OECOPHORIDAE,   GELECHIOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Hemibela thymodes
(Photo: courtesy of David Akers, Won Wron, Victoria)

The Caterpillars of this species are thought to live in a hollowed out twig which they carry around. The caterpillars probably feed on various species of

  • Gum Trees ( Eucalyptus species, MYRTACEAE ).

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

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

    The adult moths have forewings that have a yellow basal half, a brown marginal half, and a narrow brown line along the costa. The hindwings are brown. The head is yellow, and the thorax are brown. The wingspan is about 1 cm.

    The species has been found in :

  • New South Wales, and
  • Victoria.


    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 327, 329.

    Edward Meyrick,
    Descriptions of Australian Micro-lepidoptera. XII. Oecophoridae,
    Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales,
    Volume 9, Number 4 (1885), pp. 1060-1062, No. 363.


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    (written 23 September 2024)