Penicillaria jocosatrix Guenée, 1852
(previously known as : Bombotelia jocosatrix)
Mango Shoot Borer
 EUTELIINAE ,   NOCTUIDAE

Don Herbison-Evans ( donherbisonevans@yahoo.com )
&
Stella Crossley


Twins: top facing left, bottom facing right!

This Caterpillar is a translucent mauve, with greenish sides and tail, and is covered sparsely in red dots. It has a light brown head. It is an agricultural pest, feeding on the young shoots of

  • Mango ( Mangifera indica, ANACARDIACEAE ),
  • Cashew ( Anacardium occidentale, ANACARDIACEAE ),
  • Pepper Trees ( Schinus molle, ANACARDIACEAE ), and
  • Terminalia ( Terminalia carolinensis, COMBRETACIAE ).

    The Caterpillar grows to a length of about 2 cms.

    The adult moth has very dark forewings with black, red, and white markings, and white hindwings with a black spot and a broad dark border. The moth has a wingspan of about 2 cms.


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

    The species is found from southeast Asia to the Pacific, including :

  • Borneo,
  • Guam,
  • Hawaii,
  • Pacific islands, and
  • Thailand
    also including, in Australia:
  • Western Australia,
  • Nortern Territory,
  • Queensland.

    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia, Melbourne University Press, 1990, fig. 47.15, p. 456.

    Paul Zborowski and Ted Edwards,
    A Guide to Australian Moths, CSIRO Publishing, 2007, p. 194.

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    (updated 25 June 2011)