Sunday, February 17, 2013

Australia - Is this a pyralid?

Having fun and slowly plugging along here in Brisbane, although identifying the catches from the 12V light trap is proving far tricker than I thought it might. There are quite a few photo indexes at least to the commoner moths on the web, but knowing the family is of course key to looking in the right place. For example, does anyone know what family this thing is in? I initially thought it was a pyralid, but I can't see anything in Pyralidae for Australia that looks like this:


(usual excuse re blurred pictures - a 400mm telephoto lens is not the right instrument!)

A few other identified moths, plus a cracking Citrus Planthopper Colgar peracutum and a Netty Ladybird Harmonia testudinaria amongst a few other insects have kept me going. A walk in the woods today produce a few more native plants, together with a Greenish Grass-dart Ocybadistes walkeri (a skipper butterfly).


149    Creeping Cinderella Weed (Calyptocarpus vialis)
148    Monkey Rope Vine (Parsonsia straminea)
147    Greenish Grass-dart (Ocybadistes walkeri)
146    Twiggy Myrtle (Sannantha similis)
145    Flat Pea (Platylobium formosum)
144    Leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala)
143    Lesser Joyweed (Alternanthera denticulata)
142    Wombat Berry (Eustrephus latifolius)
141    Bunchy Sedge (Cyperus polystachyos)
140    Yellow-spot Epicoma Moth (Epicoma protrahens)
139    Citrus Planthopper (Colgar peracutum)
138     (Nacoleia mesochlora)
137    Eyespot Anthelid Moth (Anthela ocellata)
136    Tree Martin (Petrochelidon nigricans)
135    Tricolor Soldier Beetle (Chauliognathus tricolor)
134    Cucumber Moth (Diaphania indica)
133    Sugarcane Looper (Mocis frugalis)
132    Netty Ladybird (Harmonia testudinaria)

3 comments:

  1. It is a 'pyralid', but the family has been split so this will be part of Crambidae.
    Try:
    http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/odon/iriastis.html

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  2. Great stuff Mark - I know where to come for IDs in future!

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  3. Yes, I am quite the expert in Australasian lepidoptera. [it just reminded me of our commonest species, Udea ferrugalis on jizz]

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