Calcarifera ordinata
Encyclopedia
The Wattle Cup Caterpillar (Calcarifera ordinata) is a moth
of the Limacodidae
family. It is widespread in northern Australia
, south to Geraldton, Alice Springs and Brisbane.
The wingspan
is about 30 mm. Adults are creamy brown with lines of dots on the forewings. The hind wings are pale brown.
The larvae feed on the leaves of Acacia
, Jacksonia scoparia
, Phoenix canariensis, Leptosema aphyllum, Rosa odorata, Citrus sinensis and Atalaya hemiglauca. The caterpillar is bright yellow with blue green and orange colours. There are a number of tubercles around its body. They have reduced legs and move using a slug-like movement of the underside of the body.
The cocoon is formed on a leaf. It is spun out of silk in a small sphere, then covered in a liquid that sets like a tiny ball.
It has an extremely potent sting, described as being "worse than three wasp stings".
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 Limacodidae
Limacodidae
Limacodidae or Euclidae is a family of moths in the superfamily Zygaenoidea or the Cossoidea; the placement is in dispute. They are often called slug moths because their caterpillars bear a distinct resemblance to slugs...
family. It is widespread in northern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, south to Geraldton, Alice Springs and Brisbane.
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...
is about 30 mm. Adults are creamy brown with lines of dots on the forewings. The hind wings are pale brown.
The larvae feed on the leaves of Acacia
Acacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
, Jacksonia scoparia
Jacksonia scoparia
Jacksonia scoparia, commonly known as dogwood , is a native species of a pea-flowered, greyish leafless broom-like shrub or small tree that occurs in the south east of Queensland, Australia and eastern New South Wales...
, Phoenix canariensis, Leptosema aphyllum, Rosa odorata, Citrus sinensis and Atalaya hemiglauca. The caterpillar is bright yellow with blue green and orange colours. There are a number of tubercles around its body. They have reduced legs and move using a slug-like movement of the underside of the body.
The cocoon is formed on a leaf. It is spun out of silk in a small sphere, then covered in a liquid that sets like a tiny ball.
It has an extremely potent sting, described as being "worse than three wasp stings".