Cryptophasa pultenae Lewin, 1805
(erroneously : Cryptophaga pultenaeae)
XYLORYCTIDAE,   GELECHIOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Cryptophasa pultenae
Pl. 13, Lewin 1805, pre-publication print,
Courtesy of the State Library of NSW.

The Caterpillar of this species has been found boring into various plants, including:

  • Guava ( Psidium guajava, MYRTACEAE ),
  • Lilly Pilly ( Syzygium smithii, MYRTACEAE ),
  • Brush Cherry ( Syzygium paniculatum, MYRTACEAE ), and
  • Bush Peas ( Pultenaea villosa, FABACEAE ).

    Cryptophasa pultenae
    Male

    The male and female adult moths are different.

    Cryptophasa pultenae
    Male
    (Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

    The female moth has white wings with a number of dark dots near the middle of each forewing, and a row of dark dots along each margin.

    The males have similar forewings, but the hindwings are black. The adult moths have a wingspan of about 3 cms.

    The species is found in

  • Queensland, and
  • New South Wales.


    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia,
    Melbourne University Press, 1990, fig. 23.14, p. 230.

    Peter Hendry,
    Mt Glorious- Saturday 28th November 2009,
    Butterflies and Other Invertebrates Club,
    Metamorphosis Australia,
    Issue 56 (March 2010), pp. 32-33.

    Ian McMillan,
    Cryptophasa pultenae, Xyloryctine Moths of Australia,
    Blog, Friday, August 27, 2010.


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    (updated 4 December 2004, 12 July 2024)