Alpha Heath Moth
S1, Female, ventral
Mallee Looper
S2, Female, dorsal
| Alpha Heath Moth S1, Female, ventral | | Mallee Looper S2, Female, dorsal | | ||
 | Class: | Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) | |||
| Order: | Butterflies & Moths (Lepidoptera) | ||||
| Family: | Geometer (:Geometridae Oenochrominae) iNaturalist Observation | ||||
| Species: | Mallee Looper (Arhodia sp) | ||||
| This Photo: | 🔍S1, Male, dorsal🔎 | ||||
| Other name: | Pink Arhodia | ||||
Thank you Matt Campbell & Axel Kallies for confirming the id of this species for us General Species Information: Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere ~17mm long for both genders. Males have large bipectinate antennae, females have nearly filiform (but do have rows of scales just visible underneath). Currently being investigated for Eucalypt defoliation in our area. May finish up with some redescription/addition of new species by Dr Peter McQuillan Peter said "Is a complex of multiple species yet to be resolved". Peter & Axel noted that A. lasiocamparia occurs in wetter areas. There may be 2 different species here as S2's flight time of Feb is inconsistent with S1 & S3 of Nov. S3 laid eggs which hatched ~12 days later. We'll show the growth over time and hopefully get pupae & male & female offspring to display here for interest. | |||||
| |||||
| |||||