Lepidoptera or lepidopterans is an order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organisms, making it the second largest insect order with 126 families and 46 superfamilies, and one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world.
The white-throated treecreeper is an Australian treecreeper found in the forests of eastern Australia. It is unrelated to the northern hemisphere treecreepers. It is a small passerine bird with predominantly brown and white plumage and measuring some 15 cm (6 in) long on average. It is insectivorous, eating mainly ants. Unlike treecreepers of the genus Climacteris, the white-throated treecreeper does not engage in cooperative breeding, and wherever it overlaps with species of that genus, it feeds upon much looser bark besides typically using different trees.
Eucalyptus haemastoma, commonly known as scribbly gum, is a species of tree that is endemic to the Sydney region. It has white or silvery grey bark, lance-shaped or curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between nine and fifteen, white flowers and conical or hemispherical fruit. It is one of several eucalypts with prominent and differing insect scribbles in the bark, caused by the larvae of Ogmograptis,.
Gracillariidae is an important family of insects in the order Lepidoptera and the principal family of leaf miners that includes several economic, horticultural or recently invasive pest species such as the horse-chestnut leaf miner, Cameraria ohridella.
Nepticulidae is a family of very small moths with a worldwide distribution. They are characterised by eyecaps over the eyes. These pigmy moths or midget moths, as they are commonly known, include the smallest of all living moths, with a wingspan that can be as little as 3 mm in the case of the European pigmy sorrel moth, but more usually 3.5–10 mm. The wings of adult moths are narrow and lanceolate, sometimes with metallic markings, and with the venation very simplified compared to most other moths.
Copromorphidae, the "tropical fruitworm moths", is a family of insects in the lepidopteran order. These moths have broad, rounded forewings, and well-camouflaged scale patterns. Unlike Carposinidae the mouthparts include "labial palps" with the second rather than third segment the longest. With other unusual structural characteristics of the caterpillar and adult, it could represent the sister lineage of all other extant members of this superfamily. The genus Sisyroxena from Madagascar is also notable for its unusual venation and wing scale sockets.
Scribbly gum is a name given to a variety of different Australian Eucalyptus trees which play host to the larvae of scribbly gum moths which leave distinctive scribbly burrowing patterns on the bark.
Eucalyptus grandis, commonly known as the flooded gum or rose gum, is a tall tree with smooth bark, rough at the base fibrous or flaky, grey to grey-brown. At maturity, it reaches 50 metres tall, though the largest specimens can exceed 80 metres tall. It is found on coastal areas and sub-coastal ranges from Newcastle in New South Wales northwards to west of Daintree in Queensland, mainly on flat land and lower slopes, where it is the dominant tree of wet forests and on the margins of rainforests.
Eucalyptus rossii, commonly known as inland scribbly gum or white gum, is a species of small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. It has smooth bark with insect scribbles, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between nine and fifteen, white flowers and hemispherical or shortened spherical fruit.
Psaltoda moerens, commonly known as the redeye, is an Australian species of cicada. It is distributed through the south-east of Australia, from southern Queensland to South Australia, as well as Tasmania. Populations can vary greatly between years; one year they may be present in large numbers and the next they may be entirely absent. They feed primarily on eucalyptus but also on Angophora trees. As they feed on tree sap they expel small droplets of clear waste fluid. When numbers are high, this can form a constant stream.
Discophlebia catocalina, the yellow-tailed stub moth is an Australian moth species found in the south-eastern quartile of Australia. It is classified within the Oenosandridae moth family in the Noctuoidea Superfamily, the largest superfamily of the Order Lepidoptera. It is visually recognised by its characteristic pointed yellow tail and is a medium-sized moth species with a wingspan range of 40mm-60mm depending on gender. Discophlebia Catocalina have evolved to feed on various species of eucalypt.
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.
Eucalyptus pilularis, commonly known as blackbutt, is a species of medium-sized to tall tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has rough, finely fibrous greyish bark on the lower half of the trunk, smooth white, grey or cream-coloured bark above, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between seven and fifteen, white flowers and hemispherical or shortened spherical fruit.
Gynaephora groenlandica, the Arctic woolly bear moth, is an erebid moth native to the High Arctic in the Canadian archipelago, Greenland and Wrangel Island in Russia. It is known for its slow rate of development, as its full caterpillar life cycle may extend up to 7 years, with moulting occurring each spring. This species remains in a larval state for the vast majority of its life. Rare among Lepidoptera, it undergoes an annual period of diapause that lasts for much of the calendar year, as G. groenlandica is subject to some of the longest, most extreme winters on Earth. In this dormant state, it can withstand temperatures as low as −70 °C. The Arctic woolly bear moth also exhibits basking behavior, which aids in temperature regulation and digestion and affects both metabolism and oxygen consumption. Females generally do not fly, while males usually do.
Eucalyptus racemosa, commonly known as snappy gum or narrow-leaved scribbly gum, is a species of small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has smooth, mottled bark, lance-shaped to curved or egg-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between seven and fifteen, white flowers and cup-shaped, conical or hemispherical fruit.
Eucalyptus signata is a species of evergreen tree native to eastern Australia. It is one of many trees known as the Scribbly Gum. The habitat is dry sclerophyll forests or swampy areas at low altitude. Occurring from Morisset, New South Wales up the coast and ranges to beyond the Queensland border. The original specimen was collected at the Brisbane River.
Ichneumenoptera chrysophanes, the clearwing persimmon borer, is a moth of the family Sesiidae. It is found from Cairns in Queensland to Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory.
Ogmograptis, the scribbly gum moth, is a genus in the family Bucculatricidae and was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1935, as a monotypic genus. They are found in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and Queensland. However, in 2007, Cooke and Edwards argued that the patterning of the scribbles was different for each of the three eucalypts, Eucalyptus pauciflora, E. racemosa ssp. rossii, and E. delegatensis) and that it was likely that these differing patterns were caused by larvae from different species of scribbly gum moths.
Marianne Horak is a Swiss-Australian entomologist who specialises in Australian Lepidoptera, particularly the phycitine and tortricid moths, and is considered one of the worldwide leading experts on the systematics of Tortricidae.
Cateristis eustyla is a species of moth in the family Tineidae. This species is found in New Zealand and Tasmania. It is classified as "Data Deficient" by the Department of Conservation.
