''Aenetus eximia'' 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

Hepialidae The Hepialidae are a family of insects in the lepidopteran order. Moths of this family are often referred to as swift moths or ghost moths. Taxonomy and systematics The Hepialidae constitute by far the most diverse group of the infraorder Exopo ...

. It is known from southern

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 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 ...

, to

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. 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 70 mm. Adult males are blue-green. Females are green with two spots on each forewing. The hindwings are orange with green borders. The larvae feed on a wide range of plants, including ''

Syzygium smithii ''Syzygium smithii'' (formerly ''Acmena smithii'') is a summer-flowering, winter-fruiting evergreen tree, belonging to the myrtle family Myrtaceae. It shares the common name "lilly pilly" with several other plants.It is planted as shrubs or hed ...

'', ''

Eucalyptus grandis ''Eucalyptus grandis'', commonly known as the flooded gum or rose gum, is a tall tree with smooth bark, rough at the base fibrous or flaky, grey to grey-brown. At maturity, it reaches tall, though the largest specimens can exceed tall. It is f ...

'', '' Waterhousea floribunda'', ''

Tristaniopsis ''Tristaniopsis'' is a group of shrub and tree in the myrtle family Myrtaceae described as a genus in 1863. They have a wide distribution in Southeast Asia, New Guinea, New Caledonia and Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth ...

'', '' Doryphora sassafrass'', '' Daphnandra micrantha'', ''

Glochidion ferdinandi ''Glochidion ferdinandi'', with common names that include cheese tree (see below), is a species of small to medium–sized trees, constituting part of the plant family Phyllanthaceae. They grow naturally across eastern Australia, from south–ea ...

'', ''

Nothofagus moorei ''Nothofagus moorei'', commonly known as Antarctic beech, is an important Gondwana relict of the rainforests of the southern hemisphere. It occurs in wet, fire-free areas at high altitude in eastern Australia. The Antarctic beech group (Noth ...

'', ''

Prostanthera lasianthos ''Prostanthera lasianthos'', commonly known as the Victorian Christmas bush or coranderrk , is a large shrub or small tree of the mint family, Lamiaceae, which is native to Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania in Australia. It gro ...

'', ''

Dodonaea viscosa ''Dodonaea viscosa'', also known as the broadleaf hopbush, is a species of flowering plant in the ''Dodonaea'' (hopbush) genus that has a cosmopolitan distribution in Tropics, tropical, Subtropics, subtropical and warm temperate regions of Africa ...

'', ''

Diploglottis australis ''Diploglottis australis'', known as the native tamarind, is a well known rainforest tree of eastern Australia. It is easily identified by the large sausage shaped leaflets. The native tamarind grows in a variety of different rainforests, on ba ...

'', ''

Pomaderris aspera ''Pomaderris aspera'', commonly known as hazel pomaderris, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rhamnaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a shrub or small tree with elliptic to lance-shaped or egg-shaped leaves and gre ...

'', ''

Dendrocnide excelsa ''Dendrocnide excelsa'', commonly known as the giant stinging tree or fibrewood, is a rainforest tree in the family ''Urticaceae'' which is endemism , endemic to eastern Australia. It occurs from Tathra, New South Wales to Imbil in southeastern ...

'', ''

Lantana camara ''Lantana camara'' (common lantana) is a species of flowering plant within the verbena family (Verbenaceae), native to the American tropics. It is a very adaptable species, which can inhabit a wide variety of ecosystems; once it has been introduc ...

'' and ''

Olearia argophylla ''Olearia argophylla'', commonly known as musk daisy-bush, native musk or silver shrub, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a shrub or tree with silvery branchlets, egg-shap ...

''.Australian Faunal Directory
/ref> They live in tunnels and dig down into the trunk and root of their host plant. Pupation takes place inside the tunnel.

References

Moths described in 1869 Hepialidae {{Hepialidae-stub