Spotted Lichen Moth
LITHOSIINAE, ARCTIIDAE, NOCTUOIDEA
(Photo: Don Herbison-Evans, Sydney, New South Wales)
This Caterpillar has been found on
but is suspected of feeding only on the
on the trunks and branches. The caterpillar is quite small, growing to length of about 1.5 cms. It is basically black with yellow spots. It has sparse long grey hairs, and on each side, it has four tufts of long dense black hair projecting from verrucae on the meso and meta thorax.
It pupates in a thin cocoon of felted hairs, attached to a wall or tree trunk.
The moth emerges after about a fortnight in summer or several months across winter. It is small, slim bodied, and black, with five yellow spots on each forewing, and a large yellow patch on each hindwing, It has a wingspan of about 1.5 cms.
The species occurs over non-tropical eastern Australia, including:
Further reading :
Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia,
Melbourne University Press, 1990, pl. 18.11, p. 437.
Moths of Victoria - Part 2,
Tiger Moths and Allies - NOCTUOIDEA (A),
Entomological Society of Victoria, 2009, pp. 20-23.
List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
Part 2 (1854), p. 484, No. 1.
(updated 29 June 2010)