Telecrates laetiorella is a 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...

 of the Oecophoridae

Oecophoridae

Oecophoridae 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....

 family. It is known from the Australian Capital Territory

Australian Capital Territory

The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...

, 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...

, 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...

, South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

 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....

.

Description

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 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.

Biology

The larvae tunnel in the bark of 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...

species (including Eucalyptus rossii

Eucalyptus rossii

Eucalyptus rossii, commonly known as Inland Scribbly Gum, Western Scribbly Gum, Snappy Gum or White Gum, is a smooth-barked eucalypt of eastern Australia....

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