List of moths of Australia
Encyclopedia
Australian moths represent between 20,000 and 30,000 different types of moths. In comparison, there are only 400 species of Australian butterflies. The moths (mostly nocturnal) and butterflies (mostly diurnal) together make up the taxonomic
order Lepidoptera
. Scientifically, these moths are organised into about 80 families
, but the status of some is controversial and several recent changes have been suggested.
This is a list of moth
species which have been recorded in Australia
. The list covers the continent of Australia and Tasmania
and includes islands close to the mainland.
This page provides a link to detailed lists of these moths by family
. If a family is endemic to Australia, the link redirects to a description of the family itself.
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
order Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
. Scientifically, these moths are organised into about 80 families
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
, but the status of some is controversial and several recent changes have been suggested.
This is a list of moth
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...
species which have been recorded in 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...
. The list covers the continent of Australia and Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
and includes islands close to the mainland.
This page provides a link to detailed lists of these moths by family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
. If a family is endemic to Australia, the link redirects to a description of the family itself.
Families
- Adelidae
- Agathiphagidae
- Only one Australian species is known: Agathiphaga queenslandensisAgathiphaga queenslandensisAgathiphaga queenslandensis is a moth of the Agathiphagidae family. It is found along the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia.The wingspan is about 13 mm. Adults are night active. The forewings are unicolorous, without spots or pattern....
Dumbleton, 1952
- Only one Australian species is known: Agathiphaga queenslandensis
- AgonoxenidaeAgonoxenidaeThe Agonoxenidae are a family of moths only contains four named species in the whole world – all in the type genus Agonoxena – if the Blastodacnidae are considered to be a separate family...
- Only one Australian species is known: Agonoxena phoenicia Bradley, 1966
- Alucitidae
- AnomosetidaeAnomosetidaeAnomoses hylecoetes is a species of primitive hepialoid moth endemic to Queensland and New South Wales, Australia . It is the only species in the family Anomosetidae.-External links:****...
- Anthelidae
- Arctiidae
- Argyresthiidae (mostly treated as a subfamily of Yponomeutidae)
- Only one Australian species is known: Argyresthia notoleuca (Turner, 1913)
- ArrhenophanidaeArrhenophanidaeArrhenophanidae is a family of moths in the Lepidoptera order.-Genera:* Arrhenophanes* Cnissostages* Dysoptus* Notiophanes* Palaeophanes...
- Only one Australian species is known: Notiophanes fuscata Davis and Edwards, 2003
- Batrachedridae
- Blastobasidae
- Blastodacnidae (sometimes included in AgonoxenidaeAgonoxenidaeThe Agonoxenidae are a family of moths only contains four named species in the whole world – all in the type genus Agonoxena – if the Blastodacnidae are considered to be a separate family...
) - BombycidaeBombycidaeBombycidae is a family of moths. The best-known species is Bombyx mori or silkworm, native to northern China and domesticated for millennia...
- Only three Australian species are known: Bombyx moriBombyx moriThe silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of the domesticated silkmoth, Bombyx mori . It is an economically important insect, being a primary producer of silk...
(Linnaeus, 1758), Gastridiota adoximaGastridiota adoximaGastridiota adoxima is a moth of the Bombycidae family. It is found in the subtropical east of Australia, from the Bunya Mountains and Montville in southern Queensland to north-eastern New South Wales....
(Turner, 1902) and an unnamed Elachyophthalma species.
- Only three Australian species are known: Bombyx mori
- Brachodidae
- Bucculatricidae
- Carposinidae
- Carthaeidae
- Castniidae
- Choreutidae
- Coleophoridae
- Copromorphidae
- Cosmopterigidae
- Cossidae
- Cyclotornidae
- Depressariidae (mostly considered a subfamily of OecophoridaeOecophoridaeOecophoridae is a family of small moths in the superfamily Gelechioidea. The phylogeny and systematics of gelechoid moths are still not fully resolved, and the circumscription of the Oecophoridae is strongly affected by this....
) - Drepanidae
- DouglasiidaeDouglasiidaeThe small Lepidopteran family Douglasiidae includes several species of moths whose adults are collectively called Douglas moths and whose larvae are leaf miners...
- Only one Australian species is known: Tinagma leucanthes Meyrick, 1897
- Dudgeoneidae
- Elachistidae
- Epermeniidae
- Epipyropidae
- Species include Epipyrops anomala Bowring , 1852
- EriocottidaeEriocottidaeEriocottidae or Old World spiny-winged moths is a family of insects in the Lepidoptera order whose position relative to other members of the superfamily Tineoidea is currently unknown. There are between eight and seventeen genera currently placed within it and two subfamilies, Compsocteninae and...
- Only one Australian species is known: Eucryptogona trichobathra Lower, 1901
- Ethmiidae
- Eupterotidae
- Galacticidae
- Gelechiidae
- Geometridae
- Glyphipterigidae
- Gracillariidae
- Heliocosma Group
- Heliodinidae
- Heliozelidae
- Hepialidae
- Herminiidae (mostly considered a subfamily of NoctuidaeNoctuidaeThe Noctuidae or owlet moths are a family of robustly-built moths that includes more than 35,000 known species out of possibly 100,000 total, in more than 4,200 genera. They constitute the largest family in the Lepidoptera....
) - Hyblaeidae
- Hypertrophidae (mostly considered a subfamily of OecophoridaeOecophoridaeOecophoridae is a family of small moths in the superfamily Gelechioidea. The phylogeny and systematics of gelechoid moths are still not fully resolved, and the circumscription of the Oecophoridae is strongly affected by this....
) - Immidae
- Incurvariidae
- Lacturidae
- Lasiocampidae
- Lecithoceridae
- Limacodidae
- Lophocoronidae
- Lymantriidae
- Lyonetiidae
- Macropiratidae (mostly treated as a subfamily of Pterophoridae)
- Only one Australian species is known: Agdistopis halieuticaAgdistopis halieuticaAgdistopis halieutica is a moth in the Pterophoridae family. It is found from Australia and New Guinea to Fiji.This larvae feed on the fruit of Secamone elliptica....
(Meyrick, 1932)
- Only one Australian species is known: Agdistopis halieutica
- MicronoctuidaeMicronoctuidaeThe Micronoctuidae are a family of moths that includes about 400 described species. The family was first described in 2005.Micronoctua karsholti is the smallest of all species in the Noctuoidea superfamily.-Taxonomic History:...
- Only few Australian species are known: Duplex horakaeDuplex horakaeDuplex horakae is a moth of the Micronoctuidae family. It is known from the northern parts of the Northern Territory and the north-eastern part of Western Australia....
Fibiger, 2010, Duplex edwardsiDuplex edwardsiDuplex edwardsi is a moth of the Micronoctuidae family. It is known from the northern parts of the Northern Territory.The wingspan is 7.5-9 mm. The crosslines are all present and black. The basal line is marked at the upper half. The antemedial line is prominent and sharply angled subcostally....
Fibiger, 2010, Duplex pullataDuplex pullataDuplex pullata is a moth of the Micronoctuidae family. It is known from the northern parts of the Northern Territory and the north-eastern part of Western Australia....
Fibiger, 2010, Duplex cockingiDuplex cockingiDuplex cockingi is a moth of the Micronoctuidae family. It is known from south-western Queensland and the northern part of New South Wales....
Fibiger, 2010 and Flax kalliesiFlax kalliesiFlax kalliesi is a moth of the Micronoctuidae family. It is found south east of East Timor as well as in Australia ....
Fibiger, 2011. Records for Tolpia conscitulanaTolpia conscitulanaTolpia conscitulana is a moth of the Micronoctuidae family. It is known from Borneo.The wingspan is 14-15 mm. The hindwing is relatively small and brown and the underside is unicolorous brown....
Walker, 1863 and Tolpia myops Hampson, 1907, formerly included in NoctuidaeNoctuidaeThe Noctuidae or owlet moths are a family of robustly-built moths that includes more than 35,000 known species out of possibly 100,000 total, in more than 4,200 genera. They constitute the largest family in the Lepidoptera....
, are based on misidentifications.
- Only few Australian species are known: Duplex horakae
- MicropterigidaeMicropterigidaeMicropterigoidea is the superfamily of "mandibulate archaic moths", all placed in the single family Micropterigidae, containing currently about 20 living genera. They are considered the most primitive extant lineage of Lepidoptera ....
- The following Australian species are known: Austromartyria porphyrodesAustromartyria porphyrodesAustromartyria porphyrodes is a moth of the Micropterigidae family. It is only known to be from the higher rainfall regions of the Atherton Tableland in northern Queensland....
(Turner, 1932), Aureopterix steropsAureopterix steropsAureopterix sterops is a moth of the Micropterigidae family. It is known from eastern Australia, where it is known from northern Queensland, in wet coastal or elevated coastal forest between Mount Finnigan and Kirrama State Forest....
(Turner, 1921) and the species in the TasmantrixTasmantrixTasmantrix is a genus of small primitive metallic moths in the Micropterigidae family.-Species:*Tasmantrix calliplaca *Tasmantrix fragilis Gibbs, 2010*Tasmantrix lunaris Gibbs, 2010*Tasmantrix nigrocornis Gibbs, 2010...
genus.
- The following Australian species are known: Austromartyria porphyrodes
- MomphidaeMomphidaeMomphidae is a family of moths. These tend to be rather small moths with a wingspan of up to 21 mm. The wings are held folded over the body at rest...
- Only an unnamed Zapyrastra species is known.
- Nepticulidae
- Noctuidae (including Aganaidae and NolidaeNolidaeNolidae is a family of moths with about 1,400 described species worldwide. They are mostly small with dull colouration, the main distinguishing feature being tufts of raised scales on the forewings...
) - Notodontidae
- Oecophoridae
- Oenosandridae
- Opostegidae
- PalaeosetidaePalaeosetidaePalaeosetidae or "Miniature Ghost Moths" is a family of insects in the Lepidopteran order contained within the superfamily Hepialoidea.-Taxonomy and systematics:...
- Only one Australian species is known: Palaeoses scholastica Turner, 1922.
- Palaephatidae
- Plutellidae
- Psychidae
- Pterophoridae
- Pyralidae (including CrambidaeCrambidaeThe Crambidae are the grass moth family of Lepidoptera . They are quite variable in appearance, the nominal subfamily Crambinae taking up closely folded postures on grass-stems where they are inconspicuous, while other subfamilies include brightly coloured and patterned insects which rest in...
) - Roeslerstammiidae
- Saturniidae
- Scythrididae
- Sesiidae
- Simaethistidae
- Only two Australian species are known: Metaprotus asuridia (Butler, 1886) and Metaprotus magnifica (Meyrick, 1887)
- Sphingidae
- SymmocidaeSymmocidaeThe Symmocidae are a family of moths in the superfamily Gelechioidea. These small moths are found mainly in the Palearctic and Africa.They have traditionally been considered close relatives of the Blastobasidae, where they were sometimes included as subfamily Symmocinae...
- Only one Australian species is known: Nemotyla oribates Nielsen, McQuillan & Common, 1992
- Thyrididae
- Tineidae
- Tineodidae
- Tortricidae
- Uraniidae
- Yponomeutidae
- Zygaenidae
External links
- Australian Moths Online CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences
See also
- List of butterflies of Australia
- List of butterflies of Tasmania
- List of butterflies of Victoria