Wingia aurata (Walker, 1864)
 OECOPHORINAE ,   OECOPHORIDAE

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

Wingia aurata

This Caterpillar could be taken for a snail. It lives in a tough spiral cocoon embodying leaves of its food plant. The Caterpillar has a brown head and a stout creamy body. It feeds on:

  • Gum Trees ( Eucalyptus, MYRTACEAE ).

    Wingia aurata

    It grows to a length of about 2 cms.

    Wingia aurata

    The adult moth is orange with a dark line across and a dark patch in the middle of each fore wing. The fore wings are unusual as they taper to a point, and then recurve back. The moth has a wing span of about 2 cms.

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

    The species has been found in:

  • Queensland,
  • New South Wales,
  • Australian Capital Territory,
  • Victoria,
  • Tasmania, and
  • Western Australia.

    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. 13,242,244-245

    Paul Zborowski and Ted Edwards,
    A Guide to Australian Moths, CSIRO Publishing, 2007, p. 60.

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    (updated 18 September 2011)