''Telecrates laetiorella'' 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 Xyloryctidae is a family of moths contained within the superfamily Gelechioidea described by Edward Meyrick in 1890. Most genera are found in the Indo-Australian region. While many of these moths are tiny, some members of the family grow to a win ...

. It is known from the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

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_ ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

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 16–23 mm. Head black, face pale yellow. Palpi whitish-yellowish, base of second joint and terminal joint except base dark fuscous. Antennae yellow-whitish, towards base dark fuscous. Thorax ochreous-yellow. Abdomen light ochreous yellowish, sprinkled with grey. Legs light ochreous-yellowish, anterior and middle pair suffusedly banded with grey. Forewings elongate-oblong, costa moderately arched, apex obtuse, hindmargin faintly sinuate, oblique; ochreous-yellow; two very broad deep purple fasciae, obscurely margined with dark fuscous; first almost basal, outer edge slightly convex; second hindmarginal, anterior edge rather strongly convex: cilia ochreous-yellow, on costa purple-fuscous, at anal angle with a broad deep purple bar. Hindwings with veins 6 and 7 stalked; rather dark fuscous-grey; cilia pale ochreous-yellowish, above apex with a grey line near base.Xyloryctine Moths of Australia

Biology

The larvae tunnel in the bark of ''

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...

'' species (including ''

Eucalyptus rossii ''Eucalyptus rossii'', commonly known as inland scribbly gum or white gum, is a species of small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. It has smooth bark with insect scribbles, lance-shap ...

''), feeding on the inner bark or on the adventitious bark growth around the holes left by wood-boring beetles.

References

Telecrates Moths described in 1864 {{Xyloryctidae-stub