Ragged-banded Owlet Moth
S2, dorsal, no flash
Ellura
Ragged-banded Owlet Moth
S1, profile
 
                      
Ragged-banded Owlet Moth (Proteuxoa atmoscopa)Class: Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta)
Order: Butterflies & Moths (Lepidoptera)
Family: Owlet moth (:Noctuoidea Noctuidae Acronictinae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Ragged-banded Owlet Moth (Proteuxoa atmoscopa)
This Photo:     S2, dorsal, greyed
Synonym: Thoracolopha atmoscopa

Thank you Marilyn Hewish for identifying and Axel Kallies for confirming the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere
~10mm long with ~25mm wingspan.
Marilyn told us "Proteuxoa was split into two genera. Proteuxoa and Thoracolopha, in a publication by Bobbie Hitchcock et al", in late 2017.
Many of these Noctuid's are very shiny and difficult to photograph. We've been experimenting with turning the flash off and using external light sources to highlight the lines and reduce glare. You can see the differences here. The no flash photo's are out of focus more, little depth of field and very yellow. Cathy Powers has shown us a home made diffuser made from foam which we are now experimenting with to improve these issues while reducing flash glare / sparkle.
While Thoracolopha atmoscopa is the currently accepted name (as of late 2017), we use the names on the ALA which lists this under Proteuxoa and Thoracolopha as a synonym.

Copyright © 2018-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 02-Apr-2018
This species is an Australian Native Species, not listed in the SA Murray Mallee Survey of 2010.