Moths (Lepidoptera)

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Useful references:

CSIRO's Australian National Insect Collection (ANIC) - Australian Moths Online
Don Herbison-Evans web pages:
- Moths of Australia
- Australian caterpillars and their butterflies and moths

In the notes provided about individual species, semi-technical terms are sometimes used. They are briely explained below.

Labial palpi. These are paired appendages extending from the lower part of the head, on either side of the proboscis. They provide important information about the family of the moth.

Parts of a moth’s wing:

Costa: The leading edge of the wing

Inner margin: The trailing edge of the wing

Termen: The outer margin of the wing, connecting the costa to the inner margin

Apex: The leading tip of the wing, where the costa and termen meet

Tornus: The trailing corner of the wing, where the termen and inner margin meet

Cilia. Long hairy scales along an edge of the wing

Moths (Lepidoptera)

Anthelid moths (Anthelidae)

Case moths (Psychidae)

Concealer moths (Oecophoridae)

Curved-horn moths (all Gelechioidea except Oecophoridae)

Emperor moths (Saturniidae)

Geometer moths (Geometridae)

Hawk moths (Sphingidae)

Noctuoid moths (except Arctiinae)

Pyralid or Snout Moths (Pyralidae & Crambidae)

Sun moths (Castniidae)

Swift and Ghost moths (Hepialidae)

Tiger moths (Arctiinae)

Tortricid moths (Tortricidae)

Wood moths (Cossidae)

Other moths

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Discussion

WendyEM wrote:

1 hr ago

was it protruding from a hole bored into the wood of the Acacia ?

Unidentified Moth (Lepidoptera)

GlossyGal wrote:

4 hrs ago

Thank you for the hint 😊

Elhamma australasiae

donhe wrote:

9 hrs ago

@
ChrisAllen : No prominent knob on the tail. Too many related species have no published photos of their larvae, so it could be any of those. I hope you can rear it to an adult moth to determine its ID.

Geometridae (family) IMMATURE

donhe wrote:

9 hrs ago

In my experience: most Chrysodeixis sp. larvae look like that, all with variable intensity dark spots and/or white lines. The intra-species variability is at least as great as the inter-species differences.

Chrysodeixis (genus)

donhe wrote:

9 hrs ago

The two sub-marginal patches under the hindwing look more like C. correlata to me.

Chrysolarentia correlata