Found a moth on the window last night that I hadn't seen previously and as a bonus it was quite distinctive, so I figured it would be not too difficult to identify. Wrong, I scoured the sources and could not get a moth that looked like this one, but the closest I could find gave the clue; I read that the markings could be quite variable.
All the ones that I could see of the likely species, in the identification sources, had vey different markings on the wings, regarding of the direction and their number. However when I checked images of the species I found many variations of the markings and a few close to this one.
What I didn't see was the crimson colours that are hidden under the wings and on the upper body. However other identification points match, so I concluded that this is an exqmple of a Crimson Tiger Moth Spilososma curvata. They are found in Queensland. NSW and Victoria wher the caterpillars feed on herbacious plants such as dandelions, geraniums and beans.
What a beautiful moth :) Moth id can be so difficult at times especially when you get species with wide variations in marking or worn individuals!
ReplyDeletePleased to have found this one and managed a couple of photos. The ID did take some time but by process of elimination I finally arrived at the name.
DeleteThanks again for your interest in the blog:)