| Neola semiaurata | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Hexapoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Notodontidae |
| Genus: | Neola |
| Species: | N. semiaurata |
| Binomial name | |
| Neola semiaurata Walker, 1855 | |
Neola semiaurata is a moth of the family Notodontidae. Described by Francis Walker in 1855, it is found in Australia.
Moths comprise a group of insects related to butterflies, belonging to the order Lepidoptera. Most lepidopterans are moths, and there are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of which have yet to be described. Most species of moth are nocturnal, but there are also crepuscular and diurnal species.
Notodontidae is a family of moths with approximately 3,800 known species. Moths of this family are found in all parts of the world, but they are most concentrated in tropical areas, especially in the New World. The Thaumetopoeidae are sometimes included here as a subfamily.
Francis Walker was an English entomologist. He was one of the most prolific authors in entomology, and stirred controversy during his later life as his publications resulted in a huge number of junior synonyms.
The wingspan is about 60 mm.
The larvae feed on Acacia species, including Acacia prominens . [1]
Acacia, commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australia, with the first species A. nilotica described by Linnaeus. Controversy erupted in the early 2000s when it became evident that the genus as it stood was not monophyletic, and that several divergent lineages needed to be placed in separate genera. It turned out that one lineage comprising over 900 species mainly native to Australia was not closely related to the mainly African lineage that contained A. nilotica—the first and type species. This meant that the Australian lineage would need to be renamed. Botanist Les Pedley named this group Racosperma, which was inconsistently adopted. Australian botanists proposed that this would be more disruptive than setting a different type species and allowing this large number of species to remain Acacia, resulting in the two African lineages being renamed Vachellia and Senegalia, and the two New World lineages renamed Acaciella and Mariosousa. This was officially adopted, but many botanists from Africa and elsewhere disagreed that this was necessary.
Acacia prominens is a shrub or tree in the genus Acacia native to New South Wales, Australia. It grows 5–9 metres, sometimes 20–25 metres high and contains the psychoactive alkaloids phenylethylamine and β-methylphenethylamine. It is most closely related to A. kettlewelliae and A. covenyi.
