Wingia aurata (Walker, 1864)
OECOPHORINAE, OECOPHORIDAE

Don Herbison-Evans ( donherbisonevans@yahoo.com )
&
Stella Crossley

(updated 14 July 2008)


This Caterpillar could be taken for a snail. It lives in a tough spiral cocoon embodying leaves of its food plant. The Caterpillar has a brown head and a stout creamy body. It feeds on:

  • Gum Trees ( Eucalyptus, MYRTACEAE ).

    It was found in Sydney, and grows to a length of about 2 cms.


    The adult moth is orange with a dark line across and a dark patch in the middle of each fore wing. The fore wings are unusual as they taper to a point, and then recurve back. The moth has a wing span of about 2 cms.


    (Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Oecophorine Genera of Australia I:
    The Wingia Group (Lepidoptera: Oecophoridae)
    Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera Volume 3,
    CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 1994, pp. 13,242,244-245

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