Subject: Unidentified large Australian Moth
Geographic location of the bug: Recliffe Peninsua, Queensland, Australia
Date: 12/09/2018
Time: 07:40 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: I snapped this beauty outside a fish and chip shop on the weekend, taking a rest on a kerb, which would make it about 15cm from front legs to wing tips. I have no idea what sort it is, though, and haven’t seen one before. Can you help? It would be good to put a name to the face, as it were.
How you want your letter signed: Joshua
Dear Joshua,
This appears to be one of the Wood Moths or Goat Moths in the family Cossidae, possibly the Wattle Goat Moth, Endoxyla encalypti, which is pictured on Butterfly House where it states: “The adult moths have forewings that are speckled grey and brown with indistinct light and dark streaks. The hindwings are reddish-brown at the base, fading to grey-brown at the margins. The wingspan is around 10 cms. The thorax of the adult moth has an uncanny likeness to the head of a mouse! The ‘eyes’ of the mouse are the thicker parts of the bluish lines running on either side of the thorax, located just behind the real eyes.”
Thanks Daniel. The wingspan of this individual was definitely greater than 10cm, but that does look a very close match. Appreciate the help!
Josh