When disturbed, the Caterpillar rolls into a tight spiral, with its head in the centre. The Caterpillar grows to a length of 5 cms.

(Photo: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

In the wild, it pupates in a buff papery double-walled cocoon in the debris on the ground. In captivity, it crawls to the top of the container to pupate.

Female
(Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

The moths are buff with two dark brown spots on each forewing, and light margins. They have a wingspan up to 6 cms.

Male
(Photo: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

The species occurs across Australia, from bundaberg to Hobart, including:

underside
(Photo: courtesy of Peter Marriott)

The eggs are buff coloured each with a dark spot, and are laid in a flat cluster. They each have a diameter of about 0.5 mm.

Further reading :

David Carter,
Butterflies and Moths, Collins Eyewitness Handbooks, Sydney 1992, p. 213.

Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia, Melbourne University Press, 1990, fig. 39.18, p. 396.

Pat and Mike Coupar,
Flying Colours, New South Wales University Press, Sydney 1992, p. 27.

Peter Marriott,
Moths of Victoria: Vol 1: Bombycoidea,
Entomological Society of Victoria, 2008, pp. 16-19.

Paul Zborowski and Ted Edwards,
A Guide to Australian Moths, CSIRO Publishing, 2007, p. 155.

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