Termessa conographa (Meyrick, 1886)

Introduction

The distribution of T. conographa extends further north into Queensland compared to the similar T. discrepans

Identification

One of two species of Termessa with falcate (hooked) wingtips. T. conographa has two forms, one which has a solid black marking on the forewing ("dark"), and one which has this marking divided ("pale"). Neither form has the black marking reaching to the front edge of the forewing as in T. discrepans.

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

Rainforests

Distribution

Central NSW north to Atherton Tableland

Feeding and diet

Larvae probably feed on lichen

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.