The Caterpillars are a stout fleshy brown, with broken yellow lines over the body. There are subdorsal eyespots on the abdominal segments which degenerate along the body. The eyespots on the first segment are black, and on the second segment brown. There is small harmless horn on the tail which is black at the base and has a pale tip. The caterpillars grow to a length of about 7 cms.

The moths have a wingspan of up to 7 cm. The body is brown and cigar-shaped. The forewings are brown, and the hind wings are red edged with black. The normal resting posture has the hind wings covered. They are revealed if the moth is disturbed, as it opens its wings for flight.

(Specimen: courtesy of the The Australian Museum)

The species is found over most of the world, including the whole of Australia.

Norfolk Island 1976

Further reading :

Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia, Melbourne University Press, 1990, pp. 414-415.

Pat and Mike Coupar,
Flying Colours, New South Wales University Press, Sydney 1992, p. 87.

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