Symphyta nyctopis at Ainslie, ACT

1 A Lasiocampid moth at Ainslie, ACT

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Identification history

Symphyta nyctopis	28 Nov 2020	donhe
Symphyta psaropis	27 Feb 2020	donhe
Symphyta nyctopis	27 Feb 2020	ibaird
Symphyta undescribed species	27 Feb 2020	ibaird
Pararguda crenulata	26 Feb 2020	jbromilow50

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10 comments

jbromilow50 wrote:

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.

ibaird wrote:

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

jbromilow50 wrote:

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.

jbromilow50 wrote:

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

ibaird wrote:

27 Feb 2020

It will b einteresting to see whether anyone on iNaturalist agrees its is S. nyctopis.

donhe wrote:

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.

ibaird wrote:

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.

jbromilow50 wrote:

29 Feb 2020

Someone (an entomologist) on iNaturalist has supported S. nyctopis

GlennCocking wrote:

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.

jbromilow50 wrote:

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.

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