Common Anthelid Moth - Anthela acuta
Family Anthelidae
This page contains information about Common Anthelid Moths and caterpillars that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
- Wingspan 70mm, female
- The Common Anthelid Moths are pale brown to brownish grey in colours, with patterns on wings vary between individuals. The moths are active at night.
- On 2002, we found the hairy caterpillar on the palm tree in our front yard in late summer. We kept it in a bottle with some palm leaf. After a few days, it turned into a silk cocoon. The cocoon was dark brown in colour, formed on the bottom of the bottle covered by the palm leaf. We handle the caterpillar very carefully for we know that its dense hair will cause severe urticaria if contacted.
- Caterpillar 50mm
- About four weeks later, we saw a light brown moth came out. It flied away after we took some photos.
- Moth wingspan 70mm
- To raise caterpillars is fun, especially if we find an unknown caterpillar. It is easily too. We have raised some caterpillars such as the Wanderer, the Crow , the Orchard Butterflies and the Brown Tussock moths. You may like to raise one too. Try yourself next time when you find a caterpillar. Email us if you successfully raise one or if you find any problem.
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- In early summer 2003, we found a large woven cocoon, about 20x40mm, attached among the leaves on a young gum tree. We took it home and put it in a jar. About two weeks later, a moth came out as the above picture.
Found a Male
Found a Female
Another Female
- Caterpillar length 50mm
- On Dec 2004, we found the above caterpillar on a gum tree trunk. We took it home and wanted to see what math it would turn into. However, it escaped from the jar we kept it and we could not found it.
- Wingspan 70mm
- In Apr 2005, we found this moth crawling inside our house. When we saw the moth, it could not fly yet and did not walk very well. We believe it just came out from pupa. This might be the caterpillar we collected on Dec 2004 but escarped from the captivity and pupated somewhere inside our house.
- The Common Anthelid Moth caterpillar is dark brown in colour with long dark brown hairs, two extra long tufts on the thorax. Those hairs become paler colour when mature. There are two rows of white dots along the back. The head is dark brown with white adfrontal area. The caterpillar usually hides under bark or leaf during the day, feeds at night. The caterpillar makes a woven cocoon around itself before pupates.
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- Caterpillar 30mm will grow to 50mm
- We also found the caterpillar on Acacia leaf in late summer.
- Reference:
- 1. Anthela acuta - Australian Caterpillars by Don Herbison-Evans & Stella Crossley, 2007
- 2. Flying Colours, Common Caterpillars, Butterflies and Moths of South-Eastern Australia - Pat & Mike Coupar,1992, p25.
- 3. Insects of Australia and New Zealand - R. J. Tillyard, Angus & Robertson, Ltd, Sydney, 1926, p439.
- 4. A Guide to Australian Moths - Paul Zborowski, Ted Edwards, CSIRO PUBLISHING, 2007, p156.
- 5. Moths of Victoria Part 1 - Silk Moths and Allies - BOMBYCOIDEA - Peter Marriott, Entomological Society of Victoria, 2008, p19.
Common Anthelid Moth Caterpillars
