''Dichocrocis clytusalis'', the kurrajong bag moth, is a species of

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

Crambidae The Crambidae are the grass moth family of lepidopterans. They are variable in appearance, the nominal subfamily Crambinae (grass moths) taking up closely folded postures on grass stems where they are inconspicuous, while other subfamilies includ ...

. It is known from the north-eastern half of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. 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 20 mm. Adults are bright yellow, with black

zig-zag A zigzag is a pattern made up of small corners at variable angles, though constant within the zigzag, tracing a path between two parallel lines; it can be described as both jagged and fairly regular. In geometry, this pattern is described as a ...

lines across the wings, and a prominent black spot near the middle of each forewing. The larvae feed on '' Brachychiton rupestre'', ''

Brachychiton acerifolium ''Brachychiton acerifolius'' is a large tree of the family Malvaceae endemic to tropical and subtropical regions on the east coast of Australia. It is famous for the bright red bell-shaped flowers that often cover the whole tree when it is leaf ...

'' and ''

Brachychiton populneus ''Brachychiton populneus'', commonly known as the kurrajong, is a small to medium-sized tree found naturally in Australia in a diversity of habitats from wetter coastal districts to semi-arid interiors of Victoria, New South Wales and Queenslan ...

''. They only eat the soft green parts of a leaf, leaving a skeleton of veins. They are green with sparse hairs and some brown markings and can reach a length of about 20 mm when full-grown. They live communally in a bag formed by rolling up leaves of their food plant and joining them with silk. They hide in the bag by day, emerging to feed at night.

References

External links

CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences - Australian moths Online
Moths described in 1859 Spilomelinae {{Spilomelinae-stub