Mainland Forester
Female, profile
Ellura
Mainland Forester
Female, Anterior
 
                      
Mainland Forester (Hestiochora continentalis)Class: Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta)
Order: Butterflies & Moths (Lepidoptera)
Family: Forester Moth (:Zygaenoidea Zygaenidae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Mainland Forester (Hestiochora continentalis)
This Photo:     🔍Female, Head & Antennae🔎

Thank you Axel Kallies for confirming the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere
1st Live Photo on-line:
A medium sized, spectacular moth. There are a few in this genera, but the orange head and location suggest H. continentalis; indicating it's restricted to the mainland (not Tasmania). It's a very rare moth with very few records.
The female we found was ~7mm long, wingspan ~20mm.
It has dark brown wings (fore & hind), a blue/black body with cream & white stripes. While the top of the head is orange, along with an orange collar, the face is black.
The wings readily loose scales, making them become transparent with age. This can be seen here on the hind wings. It has smale white tufts above & below the "shoulders" (wing joins).

Copyright © 2019-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 19-Nov-2019
This species is an Australian Native Species, not listed in the SA Murray Mallee Survey of 2010.