Chenuala heliaspis (Meyrick, 1891)
Rose Anthelid
 (previously known as Ocneria heliaspis)
ANTHELINAE,   ANTHELIDAE,   BOMBYCOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Chenuala heliaspis
(Photo courtesy of Ken Harris, Mount Buffalo, Victoria)

This is a hairy Caterpillar with a pair of dorsal white spots, and black or red hair pencils on its thorax, and a broad black dorsal stripe. The hairs on the head and tail are pink.

Chenuala heliaspis
(Photo courtesy of Ken Harris, Mount Buffalo, Victoria)

It is thought to feed on the foliage of various trees, such as:

  • Gum Trees ( Eucalyptus, MYRTACEAE ),
  • Wattle ( Acacia, MIMOSACEAE ), and
  • Pine ( Pinus, PINACEAE ).

    Chenuala heliaspis
    (Photo: courtesy of Donald Hobern, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory)

    The caterpillar grows to a length of 5 cms, and pupates in a cocoon in the foodplant foliage.

    Chenuala heliaspis
    Male
    (Specimen: courtesy of the The Australian Museum)

    The adult moths are dimorphic. The male is brown with deep orange hindwings, and has a wingspan of about 6 cms.

    Chenuala heliaspis
    Female
    (Photo: Steven Dodge, Nowra, New South Wales)

    The female is paler and may not be rosy at all. The female has a wingspan of about 7 cms.

    Chenuala heliaspis
    Female
    (Specimen: courtesy of the The Australian Museum)

    The species is found in:

  • southern Queensland,
  • New South Wales,
  • Australian Capital Territory, and
  • Victoria.

    Chenuala heliaspis
    Male, drawing by R. P. Gustaaf Hulstaert,
    Lepidoptera Heterocera. Fam. Anthelidae,
    Genera Insectorum, Volume 191 (1928), Plate 1, Fig. 2,
    image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Gerstein Library, University of Toronto.

    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia,
    Melbourne University Press, 1990, fig 38.13, pl. 13.9, p. 396.

    Pat and Mike Coupar,
    Flying Colours,
    New South Wales University Press, Sydney 1992, p. 29.

    Peter Hendry,
    The Anthelidae,
    Butterflies and Other Invertebrates Club,
    Metamorphosis Australia,
    Issue 50 (September 2008), pp. 27-31.

    R. P. Gustaaf Hulstaert,
    Lepidoptera Heterocera. Fam. Anthelidae,
    Genera Insectorum,
    Volume 191 (1928), p. 9, and also Plate 1, fig 2.

    Peter Marriott,
    Moths of Victoria - Part 1,
    Silk Moths and Allies - BOMBYCOIDEA    ,
    Entomological Society of Victoria, 2008, pp. 20-21.

    Edward Meyrick,
    Descriptions of Australian Lepidoptera,
    Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia,
    Volume 14 (1891), p. 192.

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    (updated 26 April 2013, 27 February 2018, 6 April 2019, 19 August 2020, 28 June 2021)