(one synonym : Phryxus australasiae)
MACROGLOSSINAE , SPHINGIDAE
Don Herbison-Evans (
donherbisonevans@yahoo.com )
&
Stella Crossley
(Photo: courtesy of Helen Cross, Windorah, western Queensland)
Don Herbison-Evans (
donherbisonevans@yahoo.com )
&
Stella Crossley
(Photo: courtesy of Helen Cross, Windorah, western Queensland)
These Caterpillars are striped, and range in colour from green to brown. They have eyespots along the sides joined by a pale line. They have a rough black but harmless spike on the tail. They are very gregarious, living in dense colonies. They have been reported to feed on :
The caterpillars were a food source for Aborigines. Aborigines starved the caterpillars for a day or two before roastng them. The cooked larvae were said to have a pleasant savoury taste and could be stored for a long time.
The adult moth has brown forewings with white markings, and brown hindwings, each with a broad diagonal pink stripe. The wingspan is about 6 cms.
The species is found all over mainland Australia, including:
Further reading :
Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia,
Melbourne University Press, 1990, pl. 16.8, p. 414.
Oswald B. Lower
Descriptions of new species of Australian Lepidoptera, with notes on synonymy,
Proceedings of The Linnean Society of New South Wales,
Volume 22, p. 32 (1897)
Peter Marriott,
Moths of Victoria: Vol 1: Bombycoidea,
Entomological Society of Victoria, 2008, pp. 28-29.
Paul Zborowski and Ted Edwards,
A Guide to Australian Moths,
CSIRO Publishing, 2007, p. 167.
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(updated 26 November 2011)