Anthela varia
Encyclopedia
The Variable Anthelid (Anthela varia) is a species of moth
of the Anthelidae
family. It is found in the coastal areas of southern Western Australia
, Southern Queensland
, New South Wales
, and Victoria
.
The wingspan
can range up to 90 mm for females.
The larvae, commonly called Hairy Mary Caterpillars, feed on Macadamia integrifolia
and Eucalyptus
, Grevillea
and Stenocarpus
species.
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
of the Anthelidae
Anthelidae
Anthelidae is a family of Australian lappet moths in the Lepidoptera order. It was previously included in the Lasiocampoidea superfamily, but a recent study resulted in reincluding the family in the superfamily Bombycoidea.-Diversity:...
family. It is found in the coastal areas of southern Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
, Southern Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, and Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
can range up to 90 mm for females.
The larvae, commonly called Hairy Mary Caterpillars, feed on Macadamia integrifolia
Macadamia integrifolia
Macadamia integrifolia is a tree in the Proteaceae family, native to Queensland in Australia. Common names include Macadamia Nut, Bauple Nut, Queensland Nut or Nut Oak....
and Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
, Grevillea
Grevillea
Grevillea is a diverse genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the protea family Proteaceae, native to Australia, New Guinea, New Caledonia, and Sulawesi. It was named in honour of Charles Francis Greville. The species range from prostrate shrubs less than 0.5 m tall to trees...
and Stenocarpus
Stenocarpus
Stenocarpus is a genus of around 25 species of woody trees or shrubs of the family Proteaceae, occurring in rainforests of Eastern and monsoonal areas of Northern and North-Western Australia with 2 extending into New Guinea and the Aru Islands, with the greatest diversity occurring in New...
species.