Tiger Cup Moth Face | Tiger Cup Moth Body | |||||
Class: | Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) | ||||
Order: | Butterflies & Moths (Lepidoptera) | ||||
Family: | Cup Moth (:Zygaenoidea Limacodidae) iNaturalist Observation | ||||
Species: | Tiger Cup Moth (Anaxidia lactea) | ||||
This Photo: | Anterior | ||||
Thank you Dr Bevan Buirchell for confirming the id of this species for us General Species Information: Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere ~17mm long, ~38mm wingspan. Limacodidae (this family) males have bipectinate antennae & females have ciliated (fine, hairy); would look filiform to the naked eye. Interestingly we have never found a female Limacodidae, and can't find any photo's of a female of this species. A very distinctive moth with a "lighting flash" black line near the trailing edge of the wings; and very fury looking like other cup moths. The rest of both wings are a plain sandy brown; which makes sense as they are an arid species. The real surprise is underneath with bright orange & black striped legs, orange striped body & orange highlights around the face. The antennae bases are covered in an orange tuft. The short scales making the orange body stripes are covered with long sandy brown scales; making the orange stripes nearly visible. | |||||
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