Old Lady Moth
Dorsal
Ellura
Old Lady Moth
Dorsal, thick orange ring
 
                      
Old Lady Moth (Dasypodia selenophora)Class: Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta)
Order: Butterflies & Moths (Lepidoptera)
Family: Tiger Moth (:Noctuoidea Erebidae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Old Lady Moth (Dasypodia selenophora)
This Photo:     🔍Dorsal, thin orange ring🔎
Other name: Granny Moth (but this can refer to other species as well) & Southern Moon Moth

Thank you Prof Victor W Fazio III† for confirming the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA), the Adelaide Hills, the Flinders Ranges, the Riverland and elsewhere
These moths have a propensity for buildings. We often find them in the patio, and when they can't get out they die which is rather sad. Fortunately they are very common and can be found everywhere in spring & autumn.
A beautiful large moth with a large "eye" on each forewing. The proper name for each "eye" is Reniform Stigma (thanks Mark
).
Ian Gibbins reminded us that "Reni" is latin for "Kidney"; hence Reniform means "Kidney Shaped".
These Stigma are useful protection from predators that think twice before attacking such a huge "face".
They are quite shiny and perceived colours vary considerably depending on lighting angles & intensity.
They have a zig zag pattern on both fore & hindwings, but the forewing lines are much more well defined. Both wings also have a trailing line of small white dots at the top of each fold in the wing.
Underneath each wing also has a black spot (with a couple of black lines/patches on each side).
The orange ring surrounding the Reniform Stigma does seem to vary in thickness, as does the inner pale blue/white line.
Wingspan is ~80mm

Copyright © 2016-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 29-Nov-2016
This species is an Australian Native Species, not listed in the SA Murray Mallee Survey of 2010.