Black Slug Cup Moth - Doratifera casta
Family Limacodidae
This page contains pictures and information about Black Slug Cup Moths that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
- Caterpillar 25mm
- The Black Slug Cup Moth caterpillar is black in colour with white spikes. It has a orange-brown head but cover under its thorax. The caterpillar is legless and moves like a slug. On it thorax position there are four spikes with stinging hairs.
- This caterpillar feeds on gumtree and wattle leaves. Once we found Black Slug Cup Moth caterpillar on blade grass in Macgregor Bushland during mid summer. Usually a caterpillar leaves its host plant only if it is fully grown and looking for a place to pupate. We brought this caterpillar home to see what would happen.
- Pupa 8 mm diameter
- We put the caterpillar in a glass jar. Two days later, the caterpillar pupated on the side of the glass jar. The pupa was brown in colour.
- Moth wingspan 30mm
- The above pictures shows the moth came out from the pupa after two weeks.
- The moth was shiny brown in colour, with two black dots on each forewing. The moth looks identical to another moth Four-spotted Cup Moth in this family, although their caterpillar look very different.
The Food Plant
- The caterpillar are known to feed on Gum leaf and wattle leaf. We found that it also feed on Red Ash.
- Red Ash, Soap Tree, Soapy Ash
- Alphitonia excelsa
