The Orange Sun-moth is a moth

Moth

A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...

 in the Castniidae

Castniidae

Castniidae, or castniid moths, is a small family of moths with less than 200 species: The majority are Neotropical with some in Australia and a few in south-east Asia. These are medium-sized to very large moths, usually with drab, cryptically-marked forewings and brightly coloured hindwings. They...

 family. It is found in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, including Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

, South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

 and south-eastern Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

.

The wingspan

Wingspan

The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...

 is about 27 mm for males and 30 mm for females. Adults have orange hindwings with a blackish-brown inner section that surrounds an orange spot. Near the outer edges, there is a row of small black spots that are surrounded by orange.

Adults are on wing from mid October to mid November.

The larvae probably feed on Austrodanthonia setacea

Austrodanthonia setacea

Austrodanthonia setacea, known by various common names including Small-flowered Wallaby-grass, Mulga- or Bristly Wallaby-grass, is a species of grass native to Australia. Originally described by Robert Brown in 1810, it was transferred into Austrodanthonia by Hans Peter Linder in 1993, and there it...

and Austrostipa

Austrostipa

Austrostipa is a genus of grass, with about 70 species.The genus includes Australasian species formerly included in the genus Stipa.Species include:*Austrostipa crinita...

species.