Black-banded Crest-moth
S2, Female, anterior
Ellura
Black-banded Crest-moth
S2, Female, ventral
 
                      
Black-banded Crest-moth (Chlenias stenosticha)Class: Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta)
Order: Butterflies & Moths (Lepidoptera)
Family: Geometer (:Geometridae Ennominae Nacophorini)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Black-banded Crest-moth (Chlenias stenosticha)
This Photo:     S2, Female, partial body

Thank you Marilyn Hewish for identifying and Cathy Powers & Axel Kallies for helping with the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere
~36mm wingspan, ~14mm long.
The black blotches on it's forewings are more obvious to the naked eye.
The sharply pointed, forward facing, thoracis crest can be receded by the moth at will. Possibly a defense mechanism to make it appear more aggressive or larger?
Gender can be differentiated by their antennae, with females being thread-like (filiform) & males being shortly bipectinate.

Copyright © 2017-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 25-May-2017
This species is an Australian Native Species, not listed in the SA Murray Mallee Survey of 2010.