Don Herbison-Evans (
donherbisonevans@yahoo.com )
&
Stella Crossley
(updated 2 September 2008)
Caterpillar with attached green mites or parasite eggs
(Photo: courtesy of the
Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)
This Caterpillar is small and green, and is named after the four prominent black stripes on its head. These are merely pigmentation, and not actually eyes. The skin is nearly transparent, and the male can be distinguished by the pale yellow pair of gonads about two thirds the way along the body, straddling the main green blood vessel running down the centre of the back. The last abdominal segment and anal prolegs are white with a bluish tinge.
The Caterpillar lives between leaves joined together with silk. If disturbed, it has several escape strategies: it can wriggle violently backwards, or drop on a thread, or exude a nasty dark green liquid from its mouth. It seems to feed on nearly any plant foliage. It has been found on many plants, for example:
and is a pest on:
and feeds on plants from many other families, including:
It grows to a length of about 2 cms. The Caterpillar is common, and can be found throughout the year in Sydney and Melbourne. The species is found in Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria, in the east of Australia.
The Caterpillar pupates in its leafy shelter.
The patterns of the male and female adults differ: the female has a subtle pattern of light and dark brown patches. She is also larger with a wingspan of about 27 mm.
The male is more uniformly dark brown with a golden area near the wing roots. He has a smaller wingspan: about 22 mm.
The moths rest so that their wings make a shape like the outline of a bell. Whilst the males are uniquely patterned, the females are similar to those of the related species Cryptoptila australana.
The species is only been reported in
Further reading :
Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia,
Melbourne University Press, 1990, pl. 24.10, pp. 68, 278.
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