Opogona comptella

Opogona comptella (Walker, 1864)
(previously known as : Tinea comptella)
TINEIDAE

Don Herbison-Evans ( donherbisonevans@yahoo.com )
&
Stella Crossley

(updated 13 September 2006)

These Caterpillars have been found feeding :

on the bark of Golden Willow ( Salix vitellina, SALICACEAE ), and

in galls on Silver Wattle ( Acacia dealbata, MIMOSACEAE ), caused by the rust fungus Uromycladium tepperianum ( UREDINALES ) and

in galls on Blackwood ( Acacia melanoxylon, MIMOSACEAE ) caused by the fly Cecidomyia acaciaelongifoliae ( CECIDOMYIDAE ).

(Photo: courtesy of Landcare Research Ltd., New Zealand)

The forewings of the adult moth are black with yellow patches. The moth has a wingspan of about 1.5 cms.

The species occurs from southern Queensland to Tasmania as well as in New Zealand.

Further reading :

Richard Bashford,
The insect complex inhabiting galls formed by Cecidomyia acaciaelongifoliae Skuse (Diptera: CECIDOMYIIDAE) on Blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon) in Tasmania. The Australian Entomologist, Volume 33, Part 1 (March 2006), pp. 1-4.

Richard Bashford,
The insect fauna inhabiting Uromycladium (Uredinales) rust galls on Silver Wattle (Acacia dealbata) in Tasmania, The Australian Entomologist, Volume 29, Part 3 (September 2002), pp. 81-95.

Gaden S. Robinson & Ebbe S. Nielsen,
Tineid Genera of Australia, Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera Volume 2, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 1993.

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