Wattle Goat Moth at Yass River, NSW
Identification history
| Endoxyla encalypti | 22 Dec 2020 | donhe | ||
| Endoxyla encalypti | 11 Dec 2020 | GlennCocking | ||
| Endoxyla leucomochla | 11 Dec 2020 | donhe | ||
| Agrotis infusa | 10 Dec 2020 | SenexRugosus |
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7 comments
GlennCocking
wrote:
21 Dec 2020
My suggestion was based on selecting the common rather than uncommon species when they are very similar. Why do you think this is leucomochla rather than the much more common encalypti? Dried specimens are browner in encalypti, like this photo, but the photo colour might not be true. The hindwing, which is giveaway white in leucomochla, is not visible except a little bit in the last photo which I find hard to interpret.
ibaird
wrote:
21 Dec 2020
I was perhaps naively swayed by the excellent photos from life on LBH for E. leuchomochla showing wide lateral band on the thorax connecting back to the forewungs and strongly black contrasting black markings either side on the thorax with no electric blue spot... Incidenteally the photoson LBH show the hindwings of that species to be predominantly white in the male with black streaks and in the female blackish with reddish russet band on the inside third of the hindwing.
donhe
wrote:
21 Dec 2020
I was thinking E. eucalypti, in a live specimen at this magnification, would show a blue line around the thorax ?
GlennCocking
wrote:
22 Dec 2020
I don't know how to tell the two apart on "wide lateral band on the thorax connecting back to the forewungs and strongly black contrasting black markings either side on the thorax " - they both have a these things.
Re the blue line, a scan of iNat shows it in some photos but not others for both species. I think it's mainly dependent on the photo lighting. I'll have a look at the set specimens, but they of course don't indicate what shows to the naked eye on a live one. I've handled a number of live encalypti and never noticed the blue.
I agree with what Ian says about the females, my comments were about the males.
Re the blue line, a scan of iNat shows it in some photos but not others for both species. I think it's mainly dependent on the photo lighting. I'll have a look at the set specimens, but they of course don't indicate what shows to the naked eye on a live one. I've handled a number of live encalypti and never noticed the blue.
I agree with what Ian says about the females, my comments were about the males.
SenexRugosus
wrote:
22 Dec 2020
Interesting discussion - I'm sorry I didn't spend the time to take better photos. The moth was very much alive, but had beaten itself up badly trying to bash its way through a fly screen door.
GlennCocking
wrote:
22 Dec 2020
Scanning a drawer of set specimens, the blue is just visible to the naked eye. Under a microscope light, the blue is plainly visible, but not as prominently as in some flash photos. This seems to apply equally to both species.
Location information
- Coordinates 149.159867-34.893496
- Maps Rugosa
- Places Yass River, NSW
Sighting information
- 1 Abundance
- 10 Dec 2020 07:09 AM Recorded on
- SenexRugosus Recorded by
-
Collections
SenexRugosus Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr Endoxyla encalypti Wood moths (Cossidae) Moths (Lepidoptera) Insects
Additional information
- 50mm or larger Animal size
Species information
- Endoxyla encalypti Scientific name
- Wattle Goat Moth Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 912.9m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information
-
Synonyms
Xyleutes encalypti
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