Cryptophasa melanoscia (Lower, 1903)
Cryptophaga melanoscia ♀, syntype. South Australian Museum, Adelaide. © SAMA.
Cryptophaga melanoscia Lower, 1903, Descriptions of New Genera and Species of Australian Lepidoptera. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 27 183-201 [198]. Syntype(s) SAMA 2♂♀, Birchip, Vic.
Cryptophasa melanoscia (Lower, 1903). Common, in Nielsen, Edwards, & Rangsi, 1996, Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera, 4: i-xiv, 1-529 & CD-ROM [86].
Cryptophasa melanoscia (Lower, 1903). 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 17 April 2010].
Cryptophasa melanoscia (Lower, 1903). 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 18 June 2010].
Original description, Lower, 1903
Cryptophaga melanoscia, n. sp.
Male and female, 40-50 mm. Head, palpi, thorax, and legs ashy-grey-whitish, antennae white, pectinations 5, orange yellow. Abdomen greyish,. segmental margins dull orange second broadly dull orange. Forewings elongate, moderate, costa in male nearly straight, in female arched, termen obliquely rounded; 2 from about two-thirds, 11 from middle, ashy-grey-whitish, finely irrorated throughout with short black scales; markings black; a short streak from costa near base to lower margin cell, angulated in middle; a short thick mark in, cell at one-third; a, second, similar at end of cell; lower margin of cell outlined in black; from first mark proceeds- a fine line to two-thirds of costa; veins towards termen more or less outlined with black, becoming, very pronounced. in middle of veins 5 and 6; 5 or 6 dull whitish spots, between middle of costa, and apex, separated by dull fuscous marks: cilia ashy-grey-whitish chequered with black. Hindwings with termen rounded, in male somewhat sinuate, before anal angle; greyish-fuscous, becoming lighter on basal half; cilia greyish.
Intermediate in form between irrorata, Lew., and leucadelpha, Meyr., differing especially from the former by the hindwings and from both by the well defined blackish markings of forewings.
Birchip, Victoria; two specimens received from Mr. D. Goudie, who bred the species from Casuarina sp., in October.
Diagnosis:
Description:
Head:
Thorax:
Abdomen:
Food plants: Larva boring in stem. Larval foodplant: Casuarina sp. (Casuarinaceae). (Edwards, 2003).
Flight period: October.
Distribution: Victoria. Endemic. (Edwards, 2003).
Remarks: