Lepidoptera unclassified IMMATURE moth

Mount Majura

Lepidoptera unclassified IMMATURE moth at Mount Majura - 27 Nov 2023
Lepidoptera unclassified IMMATURE moth at Mount Majura - 27 Nov 2023
Lepidoptera unclassified IMMATURE moth at Mount Majura - 27 Nov 2023
Lepidoptera unclassified IMMATURE moth at Mount Majura - 27 Nov 2023
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Identification history

Lepidoptera unclassified IMMATURE moth 9 Dec 2023 donhe
Lepidoptera unclassified IMMATURE moth 7 Dec 2023 donhe
Psychidae (family) IMMATURE 27 Nov 2023 ibaird
Unidentified 27 Nov 2023 abread111

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11 comments

donhe wrote:
   27 Nov 2023
@abread111 : hope you can rear it and get an adult moth for identification. I recall no evidence of Clania sp. feeding on flowers, so it might even be a Heliocosma group species.
abread111 wrote:
   27 Nov 2023
It is a big ask - don't know if I'll be able to find it... Barbara
donhe wrote:
   27 Nov 2023
Only 7% Aussie moth species have known caterpillars. The other 93% of caterpillar species are unidentifiable unless you rear them to an adult, The caterpillar death rate in the wild is over 99%, so for any caterpillar found in the wild : please be prepared to take into protective custody for rearing to identify it.
waltraud wrote:
   28 Nov 2023
Could it be a member of Trichoptera rather than Lepidoptera? the larvae of the 2 species of the Trichoptera genus Enoicycla in Europe are not aquatic....
donhe wrote:
   28 Nov 2023
Yes. Even more reason to rear it.
waltraud wrote:
   28 Nov 2023
I think there is no chance to find it again. And how to rear? larvae of Trichoptera are to my knowledge predators. Caterpillars are comparable easy: a good bet would be to feed them with the plant on which they are found.
abread111 wrote:
   6 Dec 2023
I failed in my attempt to capture this grub, but am now prepared to tackle rearing similar unusual insects.
abread111 wrote:
   7 Dec 2023
I agree it looks very like sighting 4526915
donhe wrote:
   8 Dec 2023
This is listed as ~1 cm long.
So this could be a young Clania or Oecobia (Tinioidea) or a Heliocosma (Tortricoidea) .
4526915 is much larger : ~3 cms long, which is too large for a Heliocosma sp.,
so it was only possibly Clania or Oecobia.
So I think that the best we do is classify this sighting as 'immature Lepidoptera' unless it can be reared to a larger lava, or better still an adult.
Sorry Ian: I clicked the wrong thing.
abread111 wrote:
   8 Dec 2023
I am guessing Alison saw a range of sizes in the 100 or so that she saw at The Pinnacle. I was comparing the size of the one I saw to the size of the paper daisy Sticky Everlasting "petal", and it would not be more than about 1 cm long, the same as shown in her second photo with the insect on the paper daisy flower.
donhe wrote:
   9 Dec 2023
It is small enough to be a Heliocosma group species. so I agree with 'immature Lepidoptera', but Ian's suggestion disappeared.

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Location information

Sighting information

Additional information

  • Golden Everlasting Associated plant
  • 5mm to 12mm Animal size
  • Alive / healthy Animal health
  • Feeding on nectar or pollen Insect behaviour on flower
  • True Pollinator Insect on Flower

Species information

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  • Nearby sighting(s) of same species
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