Acentropinae sp. (subfamily)

1 An aquatic moth at Paddys River, ACT

Acentropinae sp. (subfamily) at Paddys River, ACT - 27 Mar 2019
Acentropinae sp. (subfamily) at Paddys River, ACT - 27 Mar 2019
Acentropinae sp. (subfamily) at Paddys River, ACT - 27 Mar 2019
Acentropinae sp. (subfamily) at Paddys River, ACT - 27 Mar 2019
Acentropinae sp. (subfamily) at Paddys River, ACT - 27 Mar 2019
Request use of media

Identification history

Acentropinae sp. (subfamily) 3 Apr 2019 donhe
Acentropinae sp. (subfamily) 3 Apr 2019 MichaelMulvaney
Unidentified 28 Mar 2019 RodDeb

Identify this sighting


Please Login or Register to identify this sighting.

User's notes

seen moving around in shallow water size approximate

7 comments

donhe wrote:
   3 Apr 2019
What a wonderful find. Any chance of rearing it in captivity to get an adult moth to identify (then you could take it back and release it where you found it)?
SuziBond wrote:
   3 Apr 2019
Excellent find!
ibaird wrote:
   4 Apr 2019
Yes, there are plenty of opportunities to contribute to science re aquatic moth larvae and aquatic moths generally. A colleague provided me with this link to a paper which includes some useful overview information regarding ing the state of knowledge and a key to Nymphulinae (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) associated with Hydrilla verticillata (Hydrocharitaceae) in North Queensland.
file:///C:/Users/Andrew/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/QE97E9MU/Habeck%20and%20Balciuns%202005%20aquatic%20moth%20caterpillar%20Hydrilla%20Australia.pdf
donhe wrote:
   4 Apr 2019
Ianm: that is an address on Andrew's own computer. We cannot access it.
The abstract in question is at
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262871386_Larvae_of_Nymphulinae_Lepidoptera_Pyralidae_associated_with_Hydrilla_verticillata_Hydrocharitaceae_in_North_Queensland
but there are lots of articles popped up by google if you just search
aquatic caterpillars australia
The commonest species is Hygraula nitens, but the larva of that species is reported to live in a case, so these photos may be of a related species.
RodDeb wrote:
   5 Apr 2019
Thanks but no chance of us going back and finding it again, do not know what we would feed it.
donhe wrote:
   5 Apr 2019
You could feed it on pondweeds you can get in any aquarium shop. Maybe take a small plastic bottle next time you go out. Might get lucky again.
RodDeb wrote:
   7 Apr 2019
okay will add a small bottle to our bag to carry along with us. Thanks for the advice.

Please Login or Register to comment.

Location information

Sighting information

Additional information

  • 25mm to 50mm Animal size

Species information

Record quality

  • Images or audio
  • More than one media file
  • Verified by an expert moderator
  • Nearby sighting(s) of same species
  • GPS evidence of location
  • Description
  • Additional attributes
1,899,663 sightings of 21,130 species in 9,335 locations from 12,976 contributors
CCA 3.0 | privacy
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of this land and acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present.