The Caterpillars spin threads of silk between the tree and the ground, and use them to commute. The caterpillars have a length of about 3 cm.

(Photo courtesy of Thalavai Pandi, Tirunelveli, India)

The adult moths have grey forewings, with a row of black spots along the wing edges, and a further pattern of black spots over each fore wing. The hindwings are yellow with a large black area on each wing tip. The wingspan is about 2.5 cms.

(Photo: courtesy of CSIRO/BIO Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

This species may be found from Madagascar to the Pacific, including

and has been found in the northern tropics of Australia in

Kiribati 1980

Further reading :

Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia, Melbourne University Press, 1990, pp. 248-249.

Jerry A. Powell,
Biology and Immature Stages of Australian Ethmiid Moths (Gelechioidea),
Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera,
Volume 20 (1981), Number 4, pp. 214-234.

Max Saalmüller,
Neue Lepidopteren aus Madagaskar, die sich im Museum der Seckenberg,
Bericht über die Senckenbergischen Naturforschende Gesellschaft,
1879-1880, p. 310, No. 93.

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(updated 26 March 2009, 4 June 2023)