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Identification history
| Gracillariidae (family) | 21 Oct 2022 | donhe | ||
| Philobota group | 20 Oct 2022 | donhe | ||
| Unidentified | 20 Oct 2022 | CathB |
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User's notes
A very tiny moth but conspicuous because of its brilliant white colour.
5 comments
ibaird
wrote:
20 Oct 2022
i'm not sure I can see prominent upward backward pointing palps which are characteristic of Philobota genus. I can't find a Philobota genus match,There is apparently a collar-like strucure at the base of the visible antenna which seems distinctive and possibly disgnostic.
donhe
wrote:
21 Oct 2022
I agree there are no obvious signs of upturned labial palps in this photo, but some Philobota species press their palps into hairs on the head making the palps hard to discern.
CathB
wrote:
21 Oct 2022
This moth was tiny. Compare with my P xiphostola sighting on a similar plant.
ibaird
wrote:
21 Oct 2022
I'm not sure this is Gracillidae family. I think it could also be Elastichidae family. For example siee this image from the ALA: https://biocache.ala.org.au/occurrences/e9093fc4-1118-4ab5-8a64-97d3b654e1a5
This ALA moth also has a similar collar -like structure at the base of the antenna. But also the palps would need to be hidden in this CNM specimen too.
This ALA moth also has a similar collar -like structure at the base of the antenna. But also the palps would need to be hidden in this CNM specimen too.
donhe
wrote:
21 Oct 2022
I am unclear whether this specimen has hindwings projecting beyond the forewing margins, or whether the forewings have an expanded area at the margin. If the latter, the Phyllocnistis (Gracillariidae) have an expanded forewing marginal area like this, although the wing patterns on none of published pictures of species in this genus match this specimen.
Sighting information
- At least 1 Abundance
- 18 Oct 2022 03:33 PM Recorded on
- CathB Recorded by
-
Collections
Unidentified Insects Moths (Lepidoptera) Other moths CathB Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr
Additional information
- 5mm to 12mm Animal size
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
