Esthlodora moths

Esthlodora variabilis HYPENINAE EREBIDAE

Was:- Esthlodora variabilis HYPENINAE NOCTUIDAE
I did a blog on this moth on Saturday, 11 April 2015, but in the interest of keeping the two Esthlodora together I have included it this week.
Once again I was unable to find much information on either of them.

Family:- EREBIDAE
Sub Family:- HYPENINAE
Genus:- Esthlodora
Species:- variabilis

They can roll their wings like some of the moths from Uraniidae









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Esthlodora versicolor HYPENINAE EREBIDAE

 Was:- Esthlodora versicolor HYPENINAE NOCTUIDAE

 

Family:- EREBIDAE
Sub Family:- HYPENINAE
Genus:- Esthlodora
Species:- versicolor 

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Ectopatria horologa NOCTUINAE NOCTUIDAE

The larvae have been recorded feeding on Rhagodia parabolica which is one of the salt bush plants we have here. It is also likely that the larvae would eat some of the other salt bushes we have in this area.

Family:- NOCTUIDAE
Sub Family:-  NOCTUINAE
Genus:- Ectopatria
Species:- horologa

This one is in pretty poor condition and is probably at the end of its life.








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Ectopatria Sp Poss horologa NOCTUINAE NOCTUIDAE

This moth is quite likely to be E. horologa. There are some differences in the markings, but that may  be just a natural variation.

Family:- NOCTUIDAE
Sub Family:-  NOCTUINAE
Genus:- Ectopatria
Species:- Possibly horologa










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 Elusa semipecten NOCTUINAE NOCTUIDAE

I couldn't find much information on these moths.

Family:- NOCTUIDAE
Sub Family:- NOCTUINAE
Genus:- Elusa
Species:- semipecten 

Once again, this second moth is missing rather a lot of scales.










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Dysgonia constricta EREBINAE EREBIDAE

Was:- Dysgonia constricta CATOCALINAE NOCTUIDAE
Larval food plant is Elaeocarpus obovatus, ELAEOCARPACEAE (Hard Quandong)
Although this is not a particularly common tree, we do have one here and there are a few in the area. I frequently see these moths when bush walking, so it is possible that there are other suitable food plants around.
This moth is referred to as Parallelia constricta in Moths of Australia (IFB Common), and  Bastilla constricta in A Guide to Australian Moths (Zborowski and Edwards)

Family:- EREBIDAE
Sub Family:- EREBINAE
Genus:- Dysgonia
Species:- constricta

 Here are a number of synonyms:-
    Ophiusa constricta Butler, 1874
    Parallelia constricta Butler, 1874
    Catocala albofasciata Scott, 1891
    Grammodes divaricata Lucas, 1892
    Parallelia divaricata Lucas, 1892
    Dysgonia divaricata Lucas, 1892
    Dysgonia albofasciata Scott, 1891








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Buzara latizona EREBINAE EREBIDAE

EDITED:  April 12 2020, It now seems to have changed back again to  Dysgonia!!!

I did a blog entry on this moth on Thursday, 21 October 2015 under the name Dysgonia latizona CATOCALINAE NOCTUIDAE, however, I find that Buzara latizona EREBINAE EREBIDAE seems to be the preferred name now.
Was:- Dysgonia latizona CATOCALINAE NOCTUIDAE

The larval food plant is PHYLLANTHACEAE species probably Breynia longifolia, PHYLLANTHACEAE (Willgar).
PHYLLANTHACEAE species is also one of the larval food plant of the Achaea janata moths (Blog, Wednesday, 21 June 2017), and Grammodes ocellata CATOCALINAE NOCTUIDAE (Blog, Wednesday, 1 July 2015).

Family:- EREBIDAE
Sub Family:- EREBINAE
Genus:- Dysgonia (was Buzara)
Species:- latizona






Some synonyms:-
    Ophiusa latizona Butler, 1874
    Parallelia latizona Butler, 1874
    Leucanitis schraderi Felder & Rogenhofer, 1874
    Dysgonia schraderi Felder & Rogenhofer, 1874
    Dysgonia latizona Butler, 1874

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Procession caterpillar

Ochrogaster lunifer THAUMETOPOEINAE NOTODONTIDAE

This is our local procession caterpillar. The larvae are nocturnal feeders usually massed in a web at the base of the tree, and climbing the tree to feed at night. The larval food plant is usually Acacia species, but they have been found on other plant species as well.
This is not a common moth here because we do not have the preferred wattle tree.
They are capable of completely stripping the leaves from a tree and when this happens, they will then sometimes form a long procession line, nose to tail, headed for another tree. Children sometimes lead the front of the line around to the back of the line then forming a circular procession.
These are another one of the moth larvae that, if handled, can cause urticaria. The spines on the caterpillar can break off in the skin causing irritation.

 Family:-  NOTODONTIDAE
Sub Family:- THAUMETOPOEINAE
Genus:- Ochrogaster
Species:- lunifer

This photo was taken at the town of Blackbutt a couple of years ago and is a typical procession. I have never counted the numbers but the lines are often quite long.



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Assara holophragma PHYCITINAE PYRALIDAE  

There is a moth listed on the Butterfly House (http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/moths.html) site as Aurana actiosella which looks very similar to this moth.It may be that one or the other is incorrectly named. The samples of A. actiosella on BOLD Systems suggest that Assara holophragma is the correct name for this moth.

Family:- PYRALIDAE
Sub Family:- PHYCITINAE
Genus:-   Assara
Species:- holophragma



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Edited 15/10 2017  the entry for Eccymatoge morphna and E. aorista   August 17, 2016

I previously thought the second photo was E. aorista but now believe it to be E. morphna

 Donuca Species EREBINAE EREBIDAE

Donuca spectabilis EREBINAE EREBIDAE

Was:- Donuca spectabilis  CATOCALINAE NOCTUIDAE
I originally found a good match with this moth that was named Donuca memorabilis. In 1865 the species Donuca memorabilis was identified by Walker as a separate species from D. spectabilis. Most sites now consider D. memorabilis to be the same species as D. spectabilis.
Looking through all the photos that I can find of D. spectabilis, although reasonably close in pattern to this moth, still have some significant differences. It may suggest that this moth is just a regional variation or that there are indeed two similar species.
There may also simply be a difference between the sexes, since some samples appear to have pectinate antennae while others have simple antennae.
For the moment I will go with the general consensus and call it D. spectabilis.
The larval food plant is likely to be an Acacia species.

    species: Donuca memorabilis Walker, 1865 (accepted name Donuca spectabilis)

Family:- EREIBIDAE
Sub Family:- EREBINAE
Genus:- Donuca
Species:- spectabilis

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 Donuca orbigera EREBINAE EREBIDAE

Was:- Donuca orbigera CATOCALINAE   NOCTUIDAE 
This is a spectacular moth with a wingspan a bit over 50mm. The white stripes on a fresh new moth stand out as brilliant white.
Moths of Australia lists the larval food plant as Acacia.
 

Family:- EREBIDAE
Sub Family:- EREBINAE
Genus:-  Donuca
Species:- orbigera

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Chloroclystis approximata

Chloroclystis approximata LARENTIINAE GEOMETRIDAE 

I covered a number of the Chloroclystis moths as listed at the end of this article, so here is another species in the same genus.
The larvae of this one sometimes damage apples in the early stage of fruit development but normally live on Acacia flowers.
This one is the male, the females don't have the tufts on the fore wings.

Family:- GEOMETRIDAE
Sub Family:-  LARENTIINAE
Genus:- Chloroclystis
Species:- approximata







 Below are the other blog entries:-
Chloroclystis catastreptes LARENTIINAE GEOMETRIDAE-1  Wednesday, 27 July 2016
Chloroclystis cissocosma LARENTIINAE GEOMETRIDAE Wednesday, 12 October 2016
Chloroclystis insigillata (male)  LARENTIINAE GEOMETRIDAE-1 Wednesday, 27 July 2016
Chloroclystis insigillata (Fem)  LARENTIINAE GEOMETRIDAE-2 Wednesday, 27 July 2016
Chloroclystis Poss catastreptes LARENTIINAE GEOMETRIDAE -1 Wednesday, 27 July 2016
Chloroclystis metallospora  LARENTIINAE GEOMETRIDAE Thursday, 24 September 2015

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Dichromia quinqualis HYPENINAE EREBIDAE

Was:- Dichromia quinqualis Hypeninae Noctuidae

The larval food plant is possibly Cynanchum elegans, APOCYNACEAE ( White Flowered Wax Plants).
Although we don't have any of  C. elegans here, we most likely have a related plant or  perhaps there
are other suitable food plants here.

Family:- EREBIDAE
Sub Family:- HYPENINAE
Genus:- Dichromia
Species:- quinqualis

Family:- EREBIDAE
Sub Family:- HYPENINAE
Genus:- Dichromia
Species:- quinqualis











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