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Chrysolarentia lucidulata
A beautiful moth with a wingspan of about 25mm. The fore wings had wavy bands of shades of brown and white. Hind wings were an orangish-yellow colour with a dark trim. Eyes were prominent and moth parts formed a short snout. a patch of dense setae stood out like a little crest on its head ( pic #4). Pic #5 is that of another lucid moth I found later in the day - shows the undersides of both wings-unsure if both male and female have similar patterns.
These moths are found in southern Australia. Caterpillars feed probably feed on low growing herbaceous plants, like the buckhorn plantain (Plantago lanceolata).
This was a really exciting find. He(?) is still resting on the ceiling - not wanting to go out. The yellow hind wings are a stunning contrast. The genus Chrysolarentia is also called Euphyia. This geometrid moth belongs to the subfamily LARENTIINAE http://davesgarden.com/guides/bf/showima... My thanks to martinl for correcting the ID.
Thanks Donna. I often say if only couturiers could look to nature for colours and design !!
Lovely moth. Amazing how Nature provides such rich color and patterns in one single creature.
That book sounds like a handy one to have or, perhaps, might confuse someone like me... :) Thanks for the information Martin. I remember Mark's carpet moth - I am sure that the hind wings were a paler yellow - the colour was uniformly pale and despite the loss of scales, the whole pattern on the fore wings was not as well marked. Thanks for the ID again.
Leuba my reference is a booklet in front of me by Peter Marriot 'Moths of Victoria Part 3 Waves and Carpets'. (Entomological Society of Victoria). It photographs 100 spp. in the genus Chrysolarentia alone. I think the lucid is brighter and a (similar) paler form gained species status and was so named. The books alone is sometimes still inconclusive.
Martin, thanks for clearing this up. I did think it was Lucid carpet and should have stuck to it. I will change the ID. Thanks for confirming.
Superb detail. These might lose the scales all to easily. This one looks perfect.
Spotted on Feb 22, 2013
Submitted on Feb 23, 2013
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