Dasypodia selenophora Guenée, 1852 is a animal in the Erebidae family, order Lepidoptera, kingdom Animalia. Not known to be toxic.

Photo of Dasypodia selenophora Guenée, 1852 (Dasypodia selenophora Guenée, 1852)
🦋 Animalia

Dasypodia selenophora Guenée, 1852

Dasypodia selenophora Guenée, 1852

Dasypodia selenophora, the southern old lady moth, is a Noctuidae moth found across parts of Australasia that feeds on acacia as larvae.

Family
Genus
Dasypodia
Order
Lepidoptera
Class
Insecta

About Dasypodia selenophora Guenée, 1852

Dasypodia selenophora is a moth of the family Noctuidae, commonly known by the common names southern old lady moth, southern moon moth, and granny moth. This species was first described by Achille Guenée in 1852. Its distribution includes the southern half of Australia, plus Norfolk Island, New Zealand, and Macquarie Island. Adult moths can display a range of brown shades, and have large black and blue eyespots at the center of their forewings. Their bodies are covered in hair, and their wingspan measures approximately 90 mm. Southern old lady moths are commonly seen during the daytime in dark areas inside houses and other buildings. The larvae of this species have long brown stripes running along their bodies and short, stiff hairs. Larvae feed on various Acacia species, specifically including Tan Wattle (Acacia decurrens), Cootamundra Wattle (Acacia baileyana), Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha), and Silver Wattle (Acacia dealbata).

Photo: (c) Emily Sonter, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Emily Sonter · cc-by-nc

Taxonomy

Animalia Arthropoda Insecta Lepidoptera Erebidae Dasypodia

More from Erebidae

Sources: GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia, NCBI Taxonomy · Disclaimer

Identify Dasypodia selenophora Guenée, 1852 instantly — even offline

iNature uses on-device AI to identify plants, animals, fungi and more. No internet needed.

Download iNature — Free

Start Exploring Nature Today

Download iNature for free. 10 identifications on us. No account needed. No credit card required.

Download Free on App Store