Clear Winged Snout Moth
S4, Larva, Head, showing ocelli
Ellura
Clear Winged Snout Moth
S5, Larva, dorsal, ~23mm
 
                      
Clear Winged Snout Moth (Genduara subnotata)Class: Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta)
Order: Butterflies & Moths (Lepidoptera)
Family: Snout Moth (:Bombycoidea Lasiocampidae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Clear Winged Snout Moth (Genduara subnotata)
This Photo:     S4, Larva, ventral

Thank you Peter Marriott, Prof Victor W Fazio III† & David Muirhead for confirming the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere
~17mm long, ~33mm wingspan.
The caterpillars have variations in colour (from grey to brown).
The adults reflect blue in artificial light that isn't visible in sunlight, which are camera artefacts
Males loose their scales easily to show clear wings. Even the female wings are quite translucent.
Both Males & females have large bipectinate antennae (2 rows of filaments)
On 25th April 2017, we caught specimen 8 as a caterpillar and raised her to adult. She was found on Leafless Cherry (Exocarpos aphyllus) and was ~34mm long (ignoring hairy horns). She pupated pretty quickly so was in her final stage as a caterpillar. Notice she is quite white compared with other on-line photo's; which indicates this isn't just wear but a local variation. Possibly due to her food source. Our caterpillars also have a white streak on the back, which is less prominent in most other on-line photo's.
The eggs depicted here are assumed to be this species, we didn't raise them to prove they are this species. They were on Exocarpos aphyllus that the caterpillar was found on.
We've added photo's of a new larva that was damaged. It turned out to be parasitised by a bristle fly: Fleshfly-mimicking Bristle Fly (Exorista sp)
You can see it's injured on the middle of it's back. It exhibited strange behaviour, rearing up bending at the "bruised" area. We suspect it was in pain :-( It started cocooning that day.

Copyright © 2015-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 25-May-2015
This species is an Australian Native Species, not listed in the SA Murray Mallee Survey of 2010.