The pasture day moth, Apina callisto, is a species in the moth family Noctuidae which is active during the day, as its common name implies, making it unlike most other noctuid species. It is found in most southern areas of Australia, ranging from lower Queensland to Tasmania. The species was first described by George French Angas in 1847. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Apina, erected by Francis Walker in 1855.
Celaenia excavata, the bird dropping spider of Australia and New Zealand, derives its name from mimicking bird droppings to avoid predators, mainly birds. However, there are other species of spider that resemble bird droppings, for example species of Mastophora.
A bolas spider is a member of the orb-weaver spider that, instead of spinning a typical orb web, hunts by using one or more sticky "capture blobs" on the end of a silk line, known as a "bolas". By swinging the bolas at flying male moths or moth flies nearby, the spider may snag its prey rather like a fisherman snagging a fish on a hook. Because of this, they are also called angling or fishing spiders. The prey is lured to the spider by the production of up to three sex pheromone-analogues.
The light brown apple moth is a leafroller moth belonging to the lepidopteran family Tortricidae.
Samia cynthia, the ailanthus silkmoth, is a saturniid moth, used to produce silk fabric but not as domesticated as the silkworm, Bombyx mori. The moth has very large wings of 113–125 mm (4.4–4.9 in), with a quarter-moon shaped spot on both the upper and lower wings, whitish and yellow stripes and brown background. There are eyespots on the outer forewings. The species was first described by Dru Drury in 1773.
The hooded parrot is a species of parrot native to the Northern Territory in Australia. It is found in savannah and open woodland and is one of two extant species in its genus that breed in termite mounds. It has declined from much of its original range.
Banksia nana, commonly known as dwarf dryandra, is a species of shrub that is endemic to a small area in the south-west of Western Australia. It has underground stems, pinnatipartite leaves with sharply-pointed lobes, pale green or yellow flowers and broadly egg-shaped follicles.
Banksia stenoprion is a species of prostrate shrub that is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has short, underground stems, pinnatisect leaves with triangular lobes, golden, mauve or purple flowers in heads of up to ninety, and egg-shaped follicles.
The Australian painted lady butterfly is mostly confined to Australia, although westerly winds have dispersed it to islands east of Australia, including New Zealand. Debate surrounds the taxonomy of this species. Some believe that the Australian painted lady should be a subspecies of the painted lady due to the similarity in lifestyle and behaviour. Furthermore, the painted lady is found around the globe, but Australia is the only location in which it varies enough to be considered a separate species.
Agrotis ipsilon, the dark sword-grass, black cutworm, greasy cutworm, floodplain cutworm or ipsilon dart, is a small noctuid moth found worldwide. The moth gets its scientific name from black markings on its forewings shaped like the letter "Y" or the Greek letter upsilon. The larvae are known as "cutworms" because they cut plants and other crops. The larvae are serious agricultural pests and feed on nearly all varieties of vegetables and many important grains.
Anthela varia, the variable anthelid, is a moth of the family Anthelidae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1855. It is found in the coastal areas of southern Western Australia, southern Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria.
Pinara cana, the neat pinara, is a species of moth of the family Lasiocampidae first described by Francis Walker in 1855. It is found in the south-east quarter of Australia.
Doratifera pinguis, the pale cup moth or sometimes the painted cup moth is a moth of the family Limacodidae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1855. It is found over the whole eastern seaboard of Australia.
Doratifera quadriguttata, the four-spotted cup moth, is a moth of the family Limacodidae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1855. It is found in Australia.
Abantiades latipennis, known as the Pindi moth, is a species of moth in the family Hepialidae. It may also be referred to as a swift moth or a ghost moth, as this is a common name associated with Hepialidae. Endemic to Australia and identified in 1932, it is most populous in temperate rainforest where eucalypti are prevalent, as the larvae feed primarily on the roots of these trees. Females lay eggs during flight in a scattering fashion. The larvae live for over eighteen months underground, while adult moths survive for approximately one week, as they have no mouthparts with which to feed. The moths are preyed upon by a number of predators, including bats and owls. Brown in colour overall, males are paler and the identifying silver bars of the male's wings are more prominent than those of the female's, with dark margins. Male adults are generally smaller.
Porela vetusta, the ancient porela, is a moth of the family Lasiocampidae. It was first described by Francis Walker in 1855. It is found in the Australian states of New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria.
Pollanisus viridipulverulenta, the satin-green forester, is a moth of the family Zygaenidae. It is found in the eastern part of Australia.
Parasa bicolor, the green rice moth, is a moth of the family Limacodidae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1855. It is found in Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Myanmar, Laos, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Java, China and Taiwan.
Doratifera is a genus of cup-moth caterpillars in the family Limacodidae. The genus was erected by James Duncan in 1841. There are about 13 described species in Doratifera, found primarily in Australia. They are called cup-moths because of the shape of their cocoons.
