Hecatesia fenestrata
Appearance
Hecatesia fenestrata | |
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Male | |
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Female | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Superfamily: | Noctuoidea |
Family: | Noctuidae |
Genus: | Hecatesia |
Species: | H. fenestrata
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Binomial name | |
Hecatesia fenestrata Boisduval, 1829
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Hecatesia fenestrata, the common whistling moth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is endemic to south-eastern Australia.[1]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/Hecatesia_fenestrata.jpg/200px-Hecatesia_fenestrata.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/Hecatesia_fenestrata_wing_detail.jpg/200px-Hecatesia_fenestrata_wing_detail.jpg)
The wingspan is about 30 mm. The forewings are black with two white bands. In males, there is a patch without scales, located near the costa. Instead of the scales, they have a ribbed area, used to make a clicking-whistling sound when flying by rubbing this ribbed area against a small protrusion. The noise is probably used to attract females. The hindwings are orange with a black border.
The larvae feed on Cassytha melantha. They have sparse white hairs along the body and irregular bands of orange, black and pale yellow, as well as a prominent lateral pale yellow line, and an area of red near the tail.
References
- ^ Herbison-Evans, Douglas; Coupar, Mike; Coupar, Pat; Crossley, Stella. "Hecatesia fenestrata". Coffs Harbor Butterfly House. Retrieved August 21, 2020.