Hepialidae (family)
Unidentified Swift or Ghost Moth at Paddys River, ACT
Identify this sighting
| Hepialidae (family) | ibaird | 12 Aug 2025 | ||
| Hepialidae (family) | donhe | 11 Aug 2025 | ||
| Psychidae (family) MATURE | WendyEM | 8 Aug 2025 | ||
| Unverified | TimL | 7 Aug 2025 |
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User's notes
Not the best of images. The moth was sighted on the far side of a footbridge handrail, in a dark and difficult to access location. The moth was at rest directly on the underside of the tubular handrail.
6 comments
11 Aug 2025
Possibly a female Pterolocera but I've found very few images to compare it with eg.:
https://bie.ala.org.a/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/b98fc741-0a0c-425e-84c0-1a43df0bba2c#gallery
https://bie.ala.org.a/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/b98fc741-0a0c-425e-84c0-1a43df0bba2c#gallery
11 Aug 2025
Thanks Ian. I think the link is
https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/b98fc741-0a0c-425e-84c0-1a43df0bba2c#gallery
https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/b98fc741-0a0c-425e-84c0-1a43df0bba2c#gallery
11 Aug 2025
The available photos of female Pterolocera show much smaller vestigial wings than this specimen has.
Looking at the flightless females in the various families in https://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/faqs/flightless.html
I see no matches there, so I wonder if this one of the two unillustrated families there : Hepialidae and Zygaenidae.
This specimen is perhaps too big for Zygaenidae, so I suggest Hepialidae.
Looking at the flightless females in the various families in https://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/faqs/flightless.html
I see no matches there, so I wonder if this one of the two unillustrated families there : Hepialidae and Zygaenidae.
This specimen is perhaps too big for Zygaenidae, so I suggest Hepialidae.
Location information
- Coordinates 148.905420-35.465674
- Altitude 784.4m
- Maps Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve
- Places Paddys River, ACT
Sighting information
- 1 Abundance
- 6 Aug 2025 10:55 AM Recorded on
- TimL Recorded by
- 12mm to 25mm Animal size
Collections
- TimL NatureMapr Canberra & Southern Tablelands Hepialidae (family) Swift and Ghost moths (Hepialidae) Moths (Lepidoptera) Insects
Species information
- Hepialidae (family) Scientific name
- Unidentified Swift or Ghost Moth Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 1771m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information
Record quality
Quality score
6 / 7
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- GPS evidence of location
- Description
- Additional attributes
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species