Xylorycta leucophanes Lower, 1892
ANIC
Xylorycta leucophanes Lower, 1892. Descriptions of New South Australian Lepidoptera. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 15: 5–17 [17]. Syntype(s) SAMA 5♂♀, Highbury, SA.
Xylorycta leucophanes Low. Common, 1990, Moths of Australia, Melbourne University Press. 227-230 [229].
Xylorycta leucophanes Lower, 1892. Common, in Nielsen, Edwards, & Rangsi, 1996, Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera, 4: i-xiv, 1-529 & CD-ROM [89].
Xylorycta leucophanes Lower, 1892. 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 leucophanes Lower, 1892. 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, Lower 1892
Xyl. leucophanes, sp. nov.
Male and female, 24-30 mm. Head, thorax, and abdomen shining white. Abdominal segments obscurely reddish, anal tuft whiter Palpi above white, second joint beneath fuscous, except towards base. Antennae fuscous. Anterior and middle legs black, beneath white; posterior tibiae and tarsi pale-greyish-ochreous, slightly infuscated. Forewings oblong, hardly dilated costa gently arched on basal-half, thence straight, apex obtuse, hindmargin obliquely rounded; shining snow-white; costal edge blackish from base to near apex, posteriorly attenuated; cilia shining snow-white. Hindwings pale grey-whitish, darker towards apex; cilia shining snow-white, with a faint grey median line. Underside of wings smoky fuscous. Hind wings paler; cilia white.
Five specimens bred from Hakea rugosa, the larvae form conspicuous galleries of rough mud-coloured silk and refuse, and the imago emerge at intervals during December and January. Nearest to orectis, Meyrick. My specimens were obtained at Highbury; a remarkable coincidence is, that all the specimens emerged on consecutive Sundays, generally at about 7 p.m.
Other references
The adults of several shining white species are difficult to distinguish. These include X. leucophanes Low. from western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia, where the larvae live in tubular shelters among the foliage of Hakea (Protaceae) and feed off the leaves. (Common, 1990).
Diagnosis:
Description:
Head:
Thorax:
Abdomen:
Xylorycta leucophanes, ♂ genitalia. Little Desert, Victoria, emerged 9 February 1967, collected by I.F.B. Common and M.S. Upton. ANIC genitalia slide no. 1456, dissected by D. Adamski. Photomicrograph taken at ANIC, Canberra.
Xylorycta leucophanes, aedeagus. Little Desert, Victoria, emerged 9 February 1967, collected by I.F.B. Common and M.S. Upton. ANIC genitalia slide no. 1456, dissected by D. Adamski. Photomicrograph taken at ANIC, Canberra.
Food plants: Larva in tube of silk and frass in leaves. Larval foodplants: Hakea rugosa, H. sericea, Hakea sp. (Proteaceae). (Edwards, 2003).
Flight period: December, January
Distribution: South Australia, Victoria. Endemic. (Edwards, 2003).
Remarks: