Oecophoridae (family)

Unidentified Oecophorid concealer moth at Hughes, ACT

Oecophoridae (family) at Hughes, ACT - 19 Mar 2018
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Identification history

Oecophoridae (family) 4 Dec 2018 ibaird
Oecophoridae (family) 3 Dec 2018 GlennCocking
Periallactis monostropha 21 Nov 2018 ibaird
Periallactis monostropha 21 Nov 2018 donhe
Unidentified 21 Nov 2018 ruthkerruish

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13 comments

ruthkerruish wrote:
   22 Nov 2018
These moths flutter around intermittently at about knee height in the sun. When at rest it is practically impossible to see them because of their colour and shape.
ruthkerruish wrote:
   24 Nov 2018
These moths are widespread in the eastern states but there is hardly any literature on them - there one recording of them being bred from tiny caterpillars found in eucalypt leaves on the ground.
donhe wrote:
   24 Nov 2018
Can you get some more photos of them and their larvae?
ruthkerruish wrote:
   24 Nov 2018
I can get more photos of the moths (not sure how long they are around for) but of the larvae? One would have to breed the adult from any larvae found to be sure they were those of the concealed moth. I will think about the problem.
GlennCocking wrote:
   27 Nov 2018
Hello Ruth. Did you get any more photos? P. monostropha is certainly a southern tablelands species, but all ANIC specimens (bar 1 from SA) are from late summer to mid autumn, and the wing pattern that seems to show in this photo doesn't quite match.
ruthkerruish wrote:
   27 Nov 2018
Haven't yet - how many do you want - alive or dead? I will add the undersurface of the current photo.
ruthkerruish wrote:
   27 Nov 2018
Actually I took 16 photos of the same insect in all. It was a bit hard to catch.
ruthkerruish wrote:
   28 Nov 2018
We have to hope there will be more moths after the rain. I am not sure what the time frame for is for these moths, For some moths and butterflies it can be quite short and very specific. Hope we don't have to wait for next year. I still have the original moth - it attached itself to the wall of the jar it was in. I have known moth do that before.
GlennCocking wrote:
   29 Nov 2018
It's interesting you still have the moth. Are you planning to keep it?
ruthkerruish wrote:
   29 Nov 2018
I don't usually keep insects - do you want it?
ruthkerruish wrote:
   29 Nov 2018
We can drop the moth off to you.
GlennCocking wrote:
   29 Nov 2018
OK, that's good. Could you tell me your phone number, or give me a ring on 0408287003, so we can work out something easy?
GlennCocking wrote:
   4 Dec 2018
Thank you Ruth for providing the specimen. Unfortunately I can't be more precise than to say family Oecophoridae as it became moist in the jar and lost its pattern. But I can say that it is a much larger Oecophoridae than Periallactis monostropha, and has a different shaped forewing.

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  • Grasses and Forbs Associated plant
  • 5mm to 12mm Animal size

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