Heliocausta undescribed species

A concealer moth at O'Connor, ACT

Heliocausta undescribed species at O'Connor, ACT - 25 Nov 2020
Heliocausta undescribed species at O'Connor, ACT - 25 Nov 2020
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Identification history

Heliocausta undescribed species 28 Nov 2020 ibaird
Heliocausta undescribed species 28 Nov 2020 donhe
Unidentified 28 Nov 2020 ibaird

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User's notes

Attracted to UV light at night (50w G ecko).

4 comments

ibaird wrote:
   28 Nov 2020
Best images online are at BOLD Systems 4. There is one matching image for this species on the ALA (Marilyn Hewish, Victoria), from west of Melbourne, none on iNaturalist.. The Bold images show the foreings are not generally yellow as in this specimen which is similar to the Marilyn Hewish image on the ALA. There is also a matching image of this species matching this specimen (not yellow) on p. 24 of 'Gippsland Lakes Lepidoptera' (Entomological Society of Victoria 2017). The distribution map on Bold Systems shows a distribution from SE Queensland, to NSW, Victoria and WA.
donhe wrote:
   28 Nov 2020
Ian Common in "Oecophorine Genera of Australia Vol. 1 The Wingia Group" on p.271 has a B/W photo Heliocausta oecophorella that looks very like the BOLD image at on the Coffs Butterfly House website at
http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/wing/oecophorella.html
Common says on p. 274 that the species occurs in SA and S of WA.
The specimens with photos on ALA and BOLD from Qld, NSW, Vic., and Tas., do NOT look like the photo in Common. I think their identification as this species are spurious.
I also think that this specimen from ACT also does NOT look like Common's illustration, and is best listed as Heliocausta sp.
GlennCocking wrote:
   15 Dec 2020
I agree with this conclusion. ANIC has local specimens like this one with this Heliocausta sp. See also the discussion on record 4231746
ibaird wrote:
   15 Dec 2020
Yes, moths like this are quite common at my place in Ö'Connor which is at the base of Black Mt. However, very seldom are they as distinctively marked as this one ( i.e, two 'swans in a swamp' facing left and right!)

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Sighting information

  • 1 Abundance
  • 25 Nov 2020 11:26 PM Recorded on
  • ibaird Recorded by

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  • 25mm to 50mm Animal size

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