The colour of the caterpillar appears to depend on its food. It can vary from nearly white to dark grey. The caterpillar has a brown head. It lives in a loose web spun amongst its food. It makes a loose silk web in its patch of foodstuff. The webbing can cause problems with machinery handing the material.

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

When one Caterpillar encounters another, they each produce a small amount of brown liquid from the mouth, and this causes the Caterpillars to walk apart. This appears to be a mechanism that prevents overcrowding of the Caterpillars. Unfortunately for the Caterpillars, this mandibular secretion also attracts parasitoid wasps such as the Ichneumonid Venturia canescens.

(Photo: courtesy of Donald Hobern, Aranda)

The adult is grey or brown, often with a pale basal area on each forewing demarked by a dark line. The hindwings are plain off-white. The moth has a wingspan of about 2 cms. The pheromones of the species have been elucidated.

(Photo: courtesy of Donald Hobern, Aranda)

The species is endemic to:

Further reading :

Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia, Melbourne University Press, 1990, p. 350.

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(updated 15 November 2011)