Monday 4 April 2016

ID solved, maybe

I took a photo of a moth in 2011 which I was unable to get enough features for identification but today I think I have found the right species, but there appears to be some question regarding whether there are two distinct species that look very similar or is there just the one.
Today's photo is of a female Epicoma contristis (or tristis)  a species in the NOCTUOIDEA genus found throughout southern Australia whose larvae feed on eucalyptus, leptospermum and kunzea species as well as others in the Myrtacea family.


The photo below is of the male photographed 22/11/2011

 

2 comments:

  1. Glad you finally got an id - a pretty little noctuid. Love the tuft of yellow on its head :) We have a Eucalyptus in our garden - only found out about its shallow root system after it had grown to an unmanageable height!! Worry whenever its very windy!

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  2. After so long it was a big plus as I like to know the ID of the wildlife I am photographing. Do you know the species of Eucalyptus? I might be able to pass on some tips for management.

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