Shepherd's Footman Termessa shepherdi Newman, 1856
Lichen moth
T. catocalina, T. xanthomelas
Click to enlarge image
© Australian Museum
Fast Facts
-
Classification
- Genus
- Termessa
- Species
- shepherdi
- Subfamily
- Lithosiinae
- Family
- Arctiidae
- Super Family
- Noctuoidea
- Order
- Lepidoptera
- Class
- Insecta
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Kingdom
- Animalia
-
- Life history mode
- terrestrial, volant
Introduction
T. shepherdi is the largest species in the genus, and one of the most variable.
Identification
Most specimens have white markings on the fore wing between the medial fascia and the base of the wing, and yellow markings behind the dark wing tip marking. They can be separated from the similar T. xanthomelas by having a complete black marking at the base of the forewing. Individuals of T. shepherdi with extensive dark markings on the forewing also resemble T. catocalina, but will always have yellow or white markings on the thorax.
DISCLAIMER: The identifications presented on these pages should be taken as indicative only. As with many groups of Australian insects there has been no formal revision of the Lithosiinae in recent years, and there are many undescribed species present in collections. Many species are superficially similar, and require a specialist to separate them.
Habitat
Montane forests
Distribution
Moonbi Range (NSW) south to Victoria
Seasonality
October to November
Feeding and diet
Larvae probably feed on lichens
Further reading
The majority of images of Lithosiinae presented on these pages were taken from specimens housed in the Australian National Insect Collection (ANIC) (CSIRO, Canberra). I would like to thank the staff and researchers at ANIC for their generous assistance in providing me access to this collection, and I acknowledge the depth of effort and the investment of staff time that has gone into building and curating this splendid resource. In particular, I would like to thank Ted Edwards and Marianne Horak for their assistance.
