Xylorycta parabolella (Walker, 1864)
ANIC
Oecophora parabolella Walker, 1864. Tineites. List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum. Vol. 29. 562–835 pp. [670]. Holotype BMNH ♀, Tasmania.
Telecrates parabolella Walk. Meyrick, 1890, Descriptions of Australian Lepidoptera. Part I. Xyloryctidae. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 13: 23–81 [63].
Telecrates parabolella Walk. Lower, 1896, A catalogue of Victorian Heterocera. Part xix. The Victorian Naturalist, 12: 149-152 [152].
Telecrates parabolla Walk. Beutenmüller, 1901, Catalogue of the Described Transformations of Australian Lepidoptera, Journal of the New York Entomological Society, IX, 4, 148-177 [176].
Xylorycta parabolella (Walker, 1864). Common, in Nielsen, Edwards, & Rangsi, 1996, Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera, 4: i-xiv, 1-529 & CD-ROM [89].
Telecrates parabolella Walker, 1864. Beccaloni, G. W., Scoble, M. J., Robinson, G. S. & Pitkin, B. (Editors). 2003. The Global Lepidoptera Names Index (LepIndex). World Wide Web electronic publication. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/entomology/lepindex [accessed 5 May 2010].
Xylorycta parabolella (Walker, 1864). Edwards, E. D. (2003), Xyloryctinae. Australian Faunal Directory. Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra. http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/online-resources/fauna/afd/taxa/XYLORYCTINAE [accessed 19 June 2010].
Original description, Walker, 1864
Oecophora parabolella.
Foem. Argenteo-alba; capitis discus cervinus; palpi cervino vittati; thorax ochraceo fasciatus; abdomen obscure cinereum, segmentis argenteo marginatis; pedes ochraceo strigati, tibiis posticis fimbriatis; alae anticae apice rotundatae, vittis duabus connexis ochraceis; posticae aeneo-cinereae.
Female. Silvery while, smooth, rather stout. Disk of the head above fawn-colour. Palpi smooth, nearly twice longer than the breadth of the head; second joint mostly fawn-colour in front; third setiform, fawn-colour, a little shorter than the second. Thorax with a very broad ochraceous hand. Abdomen dark cinereous above; hind borders of the segments silvery. Legs streaked with ochraceous; posterior tibiae rather broad; hind tibiae fringed. Fore wings rounded at the tips, with two ochraceous stripes, which are united at the base and at the tips; under side blackish cinereous, excepting the cilia and the fringe; exterior border slightly convex, very oblique. Hind wings cinereous, tinged with aeneous; fringe paler.
Length of the body 6 lines [12.7mm]; of the wings 16 lines [33.9mm].
a. Tasmania. Presented by M. Allport, Esq.
Subsequent description, Meyrick, 1890
Tel. parabolella, Walk.
(Oecophora parabolella, Walk. 690.)
Both sexes 25-29 mm. Head ochreous-grey, sides of crown and lower part of face white. Palpi white, second joint brownish-ochreous except at apex and towards base, terminal joint dark fuscous anteriorly. Antennae light grey. Thorax greyish-ochreous, becoming deep yellow-ochreous anteriorly. Abdomen whitish-ochreous. Legs ochreous-fuscous, posterior pair ochreous-whitish. Forewings elongate, moderate, costa moderately arched, apex obtuse, hind margin straight, oblique; silvery-white; a moderate deep yellow-ochreous longitudinal streak above middle from base to apex; a broader similar stripe near inner margin from base throughout, touching inner margin at 1/3, at extremity continued upwards more narrowly along hindmargin to meet upper streak at apex: cilia whitish-ochreous, basal half white except at anal angle. Hindwings grey, extreme apex whitish-ochreous; cilia whitish-ochreous.
Blackheath (3,500 feet), New South Wales; Hobart, Tasmania; Mount Lofty, South Australia; from October to December, eight specimens. Larva feeds in the seed-cones of Banksia marginata.
Other references
T. parabolella, Walk. (Oecophora parabolella, Walk., 690; Telecrates parabolella Meyr., loc, cit., 63, 1889).
Gisborne and Melbourne. (Lower, 1896).
Telecrates parabolla Walk.
1890 —- Larva (brief). E. Meyrick. Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Austr., p. 64.
Food plant : Cones of Banksia. (Beutenmüller, 1901).
Diagnosis:
Description:
Head:
Thorax:
Abdomen:
Food plants: Larva boring in old flower spikes. Larval foodplant: Banksia marginata (Proteaceae). (Edwards, 2003).
Flight period: October, November, December.
Distribution: New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria. Endemic. (Edwards, 2003).
Remarks: