Anthela oressarcha

Anthela oressarcha Turner, 1921
ANTHELIDAE

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

(updated 21 August 2004)

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 denticulata and Anthela basigera, but the three species occur in three different areas of the country :

Anthela denticulata which occurs in southern Victoria,

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

Anthela basigera which is found in South Australia.