Halgania Moth Adult, dorsal | Halgania Moth Dorsal, large, red, joined patches | |||||
Class: | Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) | ||||
Order: | Butterflies & Moths (Lepidoptera) | ||||
Family: | Tiger Moth (:Noctuoidea Erebidae) iNaturalist Observation | ||||
Species: | Halgania Moth (Utetheisa pulchelloides) | ||||
This Photo: | 🔍Adult, profile 'normal'🔎 | ||||
Synonym: | Utethesia pulchelloides | ||||
Other name: | Heliotrope Moth | ||||
Thank you Matt Campbell for confirming the id of this species for us General Species Information: Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA), the Adelaide Hills and elsewhere ~13mm long, with a wingspan of ~35mm. Very colourful moth close up, but the colours are not visible when flying. Males & females cannot normally be distinguished. At rest it wraps it's wings around the body, making it very difficult to get a full wing pattern from one side. It's best to get profile from both sides and dorsal shots to see the whole forewing. Another insect with a common name associated with a weed, but is a native insect. It's larvae eat Boraginaceae, with the most dominant plant in the family on Ellura being Halgania White moth, with black and red swatches (almost an art deco fabric design). There are 5 red marks along the inner margin (but they can be grey or even missing) that match the 5 red marks along the costa. The size of the red marks varies considerably. They can also join together or be very segregated. Has varying degrees of mustard highlights around the head & shoulder. There is another very similar moth, the Salt and Pepper Moth (Utetheisa lotrix), that is usually further north. We have found adults in Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Oct & Nov. | |||||
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