Machetis aphrobola Meyrick, 1883
 (one synonym is Philobota dasycopa Lower, 1907)
BAREA GROUP
OECOPHORINAE,   OECOPHORIDAE,   GELECHIOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Machetis aphrobola
(Photo: courtesy of Ken Harris, Yarra Ranges, Victoria)

The caterpillars of this species have been found boring into the branches of various Wattles, (MIMOSACEAE), including

  • Grey Sally ( Acacia prominens ), and
  • Cedar Walttle ( Acacia elata ).

    Machetis aphrobola
    (Photo: courtesy of CSIRO/BIO Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

    The adult moths have white forewings each with a zig-zag pattern of dark brown bands. The wingspan is about 3 cms.

    The species has been found in Australia in :

  • New South Wales,
  • Victoria,
  • Tasmania, and
  • South Australia.

    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Oecophorine Genera of Australia III: The Barea Group and Unplaced Genera (Lepidoptera: Oecophoridae),
    Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera Volume 8,
    CSIRO Publishing, 2000, pp. 17, 56-60, 67.

    Edward Meyrick,
    Descriptions of Australian Micro-lepidoptera IX Oecophoridae,
    Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales,
    Volume 8, Part 3 (1883), pp. 331-332, No. 120.

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    (written 25 January 2017, updated 3 September 2018, 15 August 2019, 30 August 2021)