Nyctemera amicus

1 Senecio Moth, Magpie Moth, Cineraria Moth at Wodonga, VIC

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Identification history

	Nyctemera amicus	18 Aug 2021	MichaelMulvaney
	Unidentified	15 Aug 2021	KylieWaldon

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User's notes

there are only a few silver leafed senecios so of course they are the ones with a gaggle of these caterpillars on them! I can see two white dots on the head and some red spots on the body.

2 comments

MichaelMulvaney wrote:

18 Aug 2021

It does eat other daisies besides senecio but fireweed does seem to be a favourite - I gather they contain Pyrrolizidine alkaloids. These make the caterpillar unpleasant to taste, and poisonous to birds which would otherwise attack it. The magpie name comes from the colouring of the adult moth. The forward pointing"hairy horns" are one of the distinctive features.

KylieWaldon wrote:

18 Aug 2021

Thanks Michael. knowledgable as always.

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Location information

Sighting information

5 Abundance
15 Aug 2021 10:03 AM Recorded on
KylieWaldon Recorded by
Collections
Insects Tiger moths (Arctiinae) Moths (Lepidoptera) KylieWaldon Albury, Wodonga NatureMapr

Additional information

silver leafed senecio Associated plant
25mm to 50mm Animal size
Unknown Gender

Species information

Nyctemera amicus Scientific name
Senecio Moth, Magpie Moth, Cineraria Moth Common name
Not Sensitive
Local native
Non-invasive or negligible
Up to 1813.54m Recorded at altitude
Machine learning
External link More information
Synonyms
Nyctemera amica

Record quality

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Nearby sighting(s) of same species
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