Gum Snout Moth (previously known as Lebeda apicalis) LASIOCAMPINAE, LASIOCAMPIDAE, BOMBYCOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
early instar, magnified
(Photo: courtesy of
Dianne Clarke,
Jerrabomberra, New South Wales)
Early instars of this caterpillar are grey and hairy with a row of orange marks along each side.
Later instars caterpillars are brown and blotchy. They have a knob on the tail, and two fleshy horns behind the head. The horns are erected when the caterpillar is annoyed, showing two black-edged pale blue bands behind the head.
The caterpillars are thought to feed on the foliage of
The caterpillar pupates in a rather conspicuous white cocoon on a foodplant leaf.
The adult moths of this species have brown forewings with dark markings, and orange hindwings.
The males are smaller than, and have similar coloration to, the females, but have forewings that are narrower and have darker markings. The males have feathery antennae, and the females have thread-like antennae. The wingspan of the males is about 7 cms. The wingspan of the females is about 9 cms.
The undersides are yellow shading to speckled brown along the costas and margins, with a row of dark spots near each margin, and a black line across the middle.
The species is found in south-eastern Australia, including:
The eggs are pale brown and ovoid, with a diameter of just under 1mm. They appear to be laid haphazardly anywhere.
Further reading :
Peter B. McQuillan, Jan A. Forrest, David Keane, & Roger Grund,
Caterpillars, moths, and their plants of Southern Australia,
Butterfly Conservation South Australia Inc., Adelaide (2019), pp. 92-93.
Peter Marriott,
Moths of Victoria - Part 1,
Silk Moths and Allies - BOMBYCOIDEA,
Entomological Society of Victoria, 2008, pp. 10-11.
Francis Walker,
Lepidoptera Heterocera,
List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
Part 6 (1855), p. 1464, No. 15.
caterpillar | butterflies | Lepidoptera | moths | caterpillar |
(updated 18 September 2011, 14 May 2024)