Iropoca rotundata

Iropoca rotundata at Higgins, ACT

Request use of media

Identification history

Iropoca rotundata	1 Feb 2026	ibaird
Iropoca rotundata	29 Jan 2026	WendyEM
Calliteara pura	19 Jan 2026	ibaird
Calliteara pura	16 Jan 2026	WendyEM
Lymantriinae (subfamily)	16 Jan 2026	WendyEM
Unverified	16 Jan 2026	AlisonMilton

Identify this sighting

Please Login or Register to identify this sighting.

8 comments

AlisonMilton wrote:

29 Jan 2026

@ibaird @WendyEM An update on this sighting. The caterpillar pupated and has just emerged. Strangely, the emerged moth looks wingless. A wingless female? Don's web site indicates this might in fact be Iropoca rotundata (https://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/lyma/rotundata.html)

WendyEM wrote:

29 Jan 2026

Well done. It looks like that could be who it is. This shows why Don always urged people to try to raise larvae through to the moth.

AlisonMilton wrote:

29 Jan 2026

@WendyEM As it is a wingless female, should I release it back where I found it or will it just get eaten by birds?

WendyEM wrote:

29 Jan 2026

Presumably she releases pheromones so males can find her. Foodplant is Eucalyptus sp. So if you can put her out after dark, with her coccoon on which she lays her eggs, on a Gum tree she may well get to breed.

AlisonMilton wrote:

30 Jan 2026

@WendyEM Thanks Wendy. Just what I was thinking. I'll take her back tonight and let nature take it's course. It's only five minutes down the road from my place.

DianneClarke wrote:

31 Jan 2026

These are photos of cocoon and larvae of a Calliteara pura that I raised in Qld
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/145959944
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/103596252
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/110360051

AlisonMilton wrote:

31 Jan 2026

@DianneClarke @WendyEM The larvae looks different to the one I found

ibaird wrote:

1 Feb 2026

Yes the larvae are apparently different siggesting I rotundata.
https://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/lyma/rotundata.html

Please Login or Register to comment.

Location information

Coordinates 149.021275 -35.233707
Altitude 590.8m
Places Higgins, ACT

Sighting information

1 Abundance
14 Jan 2026 10:47 AM Recorded on
AlisonMilton Recorded by
Collections
AlisonMilton NatureMapr Canberra & Southern Tablelands Latest Noctuoid moths (except Arctiinae) Moths (Lepidoptera) Insects Iropoca rotundata

Additional information

Eucalyptus Associated plant
12mm to 25mm Animal size

Species information

Iropoca rotundata Scientific name
Iropoca rotundata Common name
Not Sensitive
Local native
Non-invasive or negligible
Up to 626.76m Recorded at altitude

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