Don Herbison-Evans (
donherbisonevans@yahoo.com )
&
Rob de Vos
&
Stella Crossley
(updated 18 April 2008)
( Drawing by Catherine Symington, courtesy of
The Entomological Society of Victoria ).
This Caterpillar feeds on plants like:
which contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids. These make it unpleasant to taste and poisonous to birds which would otherwise attack it.
The adult moth is black except for a broad irregular white band across each forewing, and a large white patch near the front margin of each hind wing. The body has alternate black and yellow bands.
The adult moth is superficially similar to that of Nyctemera secundiana, but can be distinguished by the shape of the fascia on the forewings, the colour of the white pattern, the shape of the white disc on the hindwings, and the black pattern on the abdomen. Furthermore N. amicus has wings with yellow fringes and a black background colour, while N. secundiana has colourless fringes and the ground colour of the wings is dark brown.
The moth is frequently seen flying during the day. The species is found over south-east Asia, Oceania, and most of Australia, including
Its parasitoids have been studied by Dr. Tony Clarke of the University of Tasmania.
Further reading :
Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia,
Melbourne University Press, 1990, p. 434.
David Carter,
Butterflies and Moths,
Collins Eyewitness Handbooks, Sydney 1992, p. 281.
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