#philobota

[drhoz]

#2105 - Philobota philostaura

An unremarkable Concealer Moth, found in much of the Eastern states, where the caterpillars feed on dead leaves on the ground. The diet is known to include wattles, banksias, and eucalypts.

Canberra, ACT

[drhoz]

#310 - Yellow Philobota

Philobota xanthastis. Xanth means yellow, which she certainly is, but I don't know what the rest of the binomial was derived from (I'm sure I had a dictionary of taxonomic Latin and Greek around here somewhere).

Oecophorid moths have been hugely successful in Australia - most species eat dry leaf litter, although some eat dry marsupial poop, and there's a few household pests that eat carpet, textiles, and stored foodstuffs. Nothing is known about the caterpillar, eggs, or diet of this species though, which shows up in spring and summer in SW Australia between Jurien Bay and Mt Ragged.

Baldivis, Perth