Trictena atripalpis
Encyclopedia
The Bardee or Bardy or Bardi Grub or Rain Moth or Waikerie (Trictena atripalpis) is a moth
of the Hepialidae
family. It is found in the whole southern half of Australia
.
The caterpillar is used extensively by fishermen as bait. This is where the common name "Bardee", "Bardi", "Badee", or "Bargi grub" is derived from. This name is also used for the larva of the beetle Bardistus cibarius, Cerambycid species, as well as various ground dwelling and wood boring moth larvae. The other common name, Rain Moth, stems from the fact that adults often emerge after rain, typically in autumn.
The wingspan
is about 120 mm for males and 160 mm for females. The moths have fawn wings with two silver flash markings across each forewing.
The adult females deposit a great number of eggs
. In one instance, a dissected female carried over 40,000.
The larvae feed on Casuarina pauper
and Eucalyptus
species, especially Eucalyptus camaldulensis.
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 Hepialidae
Hepialidae
The Hepialidae is 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:...
family. It is found in the whole southern half of 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 caterpillar is used extensively by fishermen as bait. This is where the common name "Bardee", "Bardi", "Badee", or "Bargi grub" is derived from. This name is also used for the larva of the beetle Bardistus cibarius, Cerambycid species, as well as various ground dwelling and wood boring moth larvae. The other common name, Rain Moth, stems from the fact that adults often emerge after rain, typically in autumn.
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 120 mm for males and 160 mm for females. The moths have fawn wings with two silver flash markings across each forewing.
The adult females deposit a great number of eggs
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
. In one instance, a dissected female carried over 40,000.
The larvae feed on Casuarina pauper
Casuarina pauper
Casuarina pauper is an Australian tree species known as black oak. It is native to a band across southern Australia....
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...
species, especially Eucalyptus camaldulensis.