''Cryptophasa hyalinopa'' is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family Xyloryctidae. It is known from

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia.

Description

The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is about 30 mm for males and about 66 mm for females. Head, palpi, thorax, and legs fleshy-ochreous, head somewhat pinkish tinged, tarsi ringed with blackish. Antennae blackish, pectinations: 2. Abdomen blackish, second segment orange-red. Forewings elongate, moderate, costa, nearly straight, termen obliquely rounded; fleshy-ochreous, darker on basal third; a fine black dot in disc at one-third, a second at posterior extremity of cell, and a third obliquely below and before; two others on fold beyond middle; an obscure row of fine blackish dots along termen to anal angle, not reaching apex. Hindwings semi-hyaline (glassy), basal two-thirds black; cilia whitish becoming fuscous around anal angle. Underside of both wings with basal two-thirds densely black. The sexes of this species are very dissimilar in the hindwings, the male having the terminal half hyaline and the basal half black.Xyloryctine Moths of Australia

Biology

The larvae feed on ''

Eucalyptus platyphylla ''Eucalyptus platyphylla'', commonly known as poplar gum or white gum, is a species of medium-sized tree that is endemic to Queensland. It has smooth. powdery bark, heart-shaped, egg-shaped to almost round leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, ...

''. They bore in the stem of their host plant. Adults are on wing in September and October.

References

Cryptophasa Moths described in 1901 {{Oecophoridae-stub