Dark Noctuid Moth
Ventral
Ellura
Spotless Owlet Moth
Female, profile
 
                      
Spotless Owlet Moth (Thoracolopha acontoura)Class: Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta)
Order: Butterflies & Moths (Lepidoptera)
Family: Owlet moth (:Noctuoidea Noctuidae Acronictinae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Spotless Owlet Moth (Thoracolopha acontoura)
This Photo:     Female, dorsal
Synonym: Proteuxoa acontoura

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) and elsewhere
1st Live Photo on-line:
~11mm long & 30mm wingspan.
Based on body shape, we assume females have an ochre tint to the posterior end of their abdomen. What we assume to be males are off-white. There didn't appear to be any other variations we could see.
They have a faint racing stripe behind their head, which is not visible on pinned samples as the pin-head interferes.
We weren't able to capture their satin texture in photographs. An elegant moth to the naked eye. And due to the lack of crescents & spots, not obviously a proteuxoa.

Copyright © 2018-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 17-Apr-2018
This species is an Australian Native Species, not listed in the SA Murray Mallee Survey of 2010.