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Twisted moth

Parepisparis lutosaria

Description:

From some angles it looks like a toy airplane from others like a broken gum leaf.
Wingspan about 50mm. Both fore and hind wings are recurved to create a single apex. Colours are vary across the hind wing to suit the mimicry of old gum leaves.

Habitat:

On a building wall under light fittings in a local nature reserve.

Notes:

'Bright Twisted moth (♂)' The common name of 'twisted' comes from the fact that they often curve their abdomen to one side at rest.. as seen in pic 3 here. The larvae feed on the leaves of various gum trees. These can be found in Qld NSW and Victoria.
Next challenge is to find a female.
family: GEOMETRIDAE
subfamily: Oenochrominae s. str.
http://bie.ala.org.au/species/Parepispar...

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7 Comments

neilsfish
neilsfish 9 years ago

That's a weird-looking moth o_o

Mark Ridgway
Mark Ridgway 9 years ago

Thanks Charlie. They sure are weird from some angles. Not common either so it's a real buzz to find one.

CharliePrice
CharliePrice 9 years ago

Great set of pics Mark ..have to say the most unusual moth i have ever seen !

Mark Ridgway
Mark Ridgway 9 years ago

#2 to #1 just for you KM. (I agree)

Nice! I really like #2!

Mark Ridgway
Mark Ridgway 9 years ago

It was a great night for moths last night. Warm northerly wind.

rachelfarmer79
rachelfarmer79 9 years ago

Interesting :)

Mark Ridgway
Spotted by
Mark Ridgway

Victoria, Australia

Spotted on Oct 23, 2014
Submitted on Oct 23, 2014

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