Cosmodes elegans
The green blotched moth (Cosmodes elegans) is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in New South Wales, Norfolk Island, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia and New Zealand.
Cosmodes elegans | |
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Species: | C. elegans |
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Cosmodes elegans (Donovan, 1805) | |
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Identification
Adult moths are brown with sinuous green markings on their forewings, white hindwings fading to light brown along the edges, and a hairy crest just behind their heads.[1] The adult's wingspan is about 40 mm.[2] The caterpillars grow to a length of about 3 cm and are bright green with dark spiracles on both sides.[3]
Habitat
The green blotched moth is native to Australia, although it migrates to New Zealand during the summer. The moth lives in forest clearings from January to May[4] where it cocoons among the foliage of its preferred food source.[5]
Diet
The larvae feed on Lobelia species, Verbena species and Wahlenbergia species.[6]
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Category:Cosmodes elegans. |
- "Green Blotched Moth (Cosmodes elegans)". OzAnimals.com: Australian Wildlife. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
- Don Herbison-Evans & Stella Crossley (October 11, 2008). "Cosmodes elegans". uts.edu.au. Archived from the original on 2008-07-30. Retrieved 2009-01-23.
- Herbison-Evans, Don (March 15, 2015). "Cosmodes elegans". Australian Caterpillars and their Butterflies and Moths. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
- "Cosmodes elegans (Green blotched moth)". TERRAIN. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
- Hoare, R. J. B. (2017). Noctuinae (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Part 1, Austramathes, Cosmodes, Proteuxoa, Physetica. Lincoln, N.Z.: Landcare Research. pp. 30–31. ISBN 978-0-947525-07-1.
- Hoare, R.J.B. (2017). "Noctuinae (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) part 1: Austramathes, Cosmodes, Proteuxoa, Physetica" (PDF). Fauna of New Zealand. 73: 1–130. doi:10.7931/J2/FNZ.73 – via Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd.