Anthela oressarcha

Anthela oressarcha Turner, 1921
ANTHELIDAE

Don Herbison-Evans ( donherbisonevans@yahoo.com )
&
Stella Crossley

(updated 24 February 2009)

Anthela oressarcha
Male
(Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

These are alpine caterpillars, being found only in the Kosciusko National Park in Australia. For food, they accepted:

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

The adult moths are fawn with patterns of dark markings. The male is the smaller, having a wing span of about 6 cms. The female has a span of about 7 cms.

The adults are superficially similar to those of Anthela basigera, Anthela denticulata, and Anthela euryphrica, but the four species occur in four different areas of the country:

Anthela oressarcha which comes from the mountain areas of southern New South Wales,

Anthela denticulata which occurs in southern Victoria,

Anthela basigera which is found in South Australia.

Anthela euryphrica which comes from central New South Wales.

Further reading :

Ian F.B. Common, Moths of Australia, Melbourne University Press, 1990, pl. 13.6, p. 395.

Peter Marriott,
Moths of Victoria: Vol 1: Bombycoidea,
Entomological Society of Victoria, 2008, pp. 20-21.