Symphyta nyctopis
1 A Bombycoid Moth (Lasiocampinae) at Ainslie, ACT
Identify this sighting
| Symphyta nyctopis | donhe | 28 Nov 2020 | |
| Symphyta psaropis | donhe | 27 Feb 2020 | |
| Symphyta nyctopis | ibaird | 27 Feb 2020 | |
| Symphyta undescribed species | ibaird | 27 Feb 2020 | |
| Pararguda crenulata | jb2602 | 26 Feb 2020 |
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10 comments
26 Feb 2020
P. dasymalla, P. crenulata or P. rufescens?
Uniform grey wings and body; Rufous antennae and front; No discernible snout; White wing tips between veins; White tufts at abdomen tip; Black discal spot. Non fit exactly but P. crenulata seems to be the best fit.
Uniform grey wings and body; Rufous antennae and front; No discernible snout; White wing tips between veins; White tufts at abdomen tip; Black discal spot. Non fit exactly but P. crenulata seems to be the best fit.
27 Feb 2020
Excellent photos for attempting ID, John! I don't think this is Paraguda spp. because it lacks the pointed, snout, it has a longer abdomen and there are clear discal spots on the forewings. The black discal spots strongly suggest a Symphata spp. Appearance wise it looks like the apparently best known Symphyta nyctopis although Bold Systems 4 only shows that species occurring in Queensland and Western Australia. however iNaturalist and the ALA also show northern NSW occurrences. D.Hobern has recorded very similar images of Symphyta sp. at Aranda, see ALA at: https://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:biodiversity.org.au:afd.taxon:a53839d0-3ef2-47c4-bcb2-fc7827e52a03#overview
However he noted his sightings wereof an Úndescribed Symphyrta sp. , not S. nyctopis
However he noted his sightings wereof an Úndescribed Symphyrta sp. , not S. nyctopis
27 Feb 2020
I agree totally with your conclusion Ian, it looks just like a male Symphata nyctopis, many thanks for your research. Consistent also with rounded antennae at apex and white tufts on leg tips.
27 Feb 2020
A specimen was also seen the night before this one but I only took one dorsal shot. This has been uploaded to https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/observations/39259579
27 Feb 2020
It will b einteresting to see whether anyone on iNaturalist agrees its is S. nyctopis.
28 Feb 2020
The hindwings of Pararguda crenulata are not chequered, whereas those of Symphyta psaropis (which is grey and occurs in south eastern Australia) are chequered, like this specimen 4250914.
28 Feb 2020
Chequered hindwing margins seem to be characteristic of both named and un-named Symphyta spp. so while I'm pretty confident its Synphyta spp. I'm not sure I have convincing evidence its P. psaropsis.
27 Nov 2020
S. nyctopis is generally a more northern species than ACT, and it is typically a medium brown. It seems to be replaced in the ACT by a much blacker unnamed species (ref Donald Hobern's comment). But I hesitate to call all our blackish observations S. sp, as that would mix them with the quite different S. sp for which we have one observation,. That species is interesting because most collected specimens are from Black Moutain, and ANIC has no male specimen. I have been thinking that S. nyctopis is close enough, although probably not correct. As Don noted S. psaropis is grey, rather like photo 1. But photo 3 suggests this one is quite black. What did your eye see John? The dark spot on S. psaropis is more subtle that appears here.
28 Nov 2020
A number of what I think are also Symphyta nyctopis, observed on Budawang Coast, have now been uploaded to iNaturalist under JB2602.
Location information
- Coordinates 149.151903-35.259234
- Places Ainslie, ACT
Sighting information
- 1 Abundance
- 25 Feb 2020 10:05 PM Recorded on
- jb2602 Recorded by
- 12mm to 25mm Animal size
- Male Gender
Collections
- Insects Moths (Lepidoptera) Other moths jb2602 Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr Symphyta nyctopis
Species information
- Symphyta nyctopis Scientific name
- A Bombycoid Moth (Lasiocampinae) Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 621m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information
Record quality
Quality score
5 / 7
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- Additional attributes
- GPS evidence of location
- Description