Synemon theresa
Encyclopedia
The Cryptic Sun Moth is a moth
in the Castniidae
family. It is found in Australia
, including South Australia
and Victoria
.
The wingspan
is about 30 mm for males and 35 mm for females. The upperside of the anterior wings is greyish, the disc varied with longitudinal pale and fuscous dashes, beyond the middle the pale dashes almost form a transverse band, followed by a series of dark spots. The margin is brown slightly varied with white. The posterior wings are fulvous-brown at the base, marked with a clear fulvous spot, beyond this, fulvous with a transverse macular band, the margin itself black. On the underside, the anterior wings are orange, with the outer margin narrowly black, with three or four black spots before the apex. The posterior wings are greyish in the male, in the female nearly as above, but paler.
The head, thorax and abdomen grey above and whitish below. The antennae are black, ringed with white.
Adults are on wing from mid December to early January.
The larvae possibly feed on Austrodanthonia
species.
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 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 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....
.
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 30 mm for males and 35 mm for females. The upperside of the anterior wings is greyish, the disc varied with longitudinal pale and fuscous dashes, beyond the middle the pale dashes almost form a transverse band, followed by a series of dark spots. The margin is brown slightly varied with white. The posterior wings are fulvous-brown at the base, marked with a clear fulvous spot, beyond this, fulvous with a transverse macular band, the margin itself black. On the underside, the anterior wings are orange, with the outer margin narrowly black, with three or four black spots before the apex. The posterior wings are greyish in the male, in the female nearly as above, but paler.
The head, thorax and abdomen grey above and whitish below. The antennae are black, ringed with white.
Adults are on wing from mid December to early January.
The larvae possibly feed on Austrodanthonia
Austrodanthonia
Austrodanthonia is a genus of 28 grass species found in Australia, New Guinea and New Zealand.Species include:*Austrodanthonia acerosa H.P.Linder*Austrodanthonia alpicola H.P.Linder – Crag Wallaby-grass...
species.