Sphenarches anisodactylus

3 Geranium Plume Moth at Macarthur, ACT

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Identification history

	Sphenarches anisodactylus	6 May 2018	donhe
	Sphenarches anisodactylus	6 May 2018	RodDeb

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User's notes

gently brought inside to photograph then put back onto the Geranium where upon he flew up under the eaves and has been there for the past few hours.

7 comments

ibaird wrote:

7 May 2018

A great photo.

AaronClausen wrote:

7 May 2018

Battle moth.

donhe wrote:

8 May 2018

You might like to examine the flower buds. Any with holes may have a larva inside or a pupa attached to the stalk.

RodDeb wrote:

8 May 2018

Will have to look at it closer, thanks for the info.

RodDeb wrote:

9 May 2018

Hi,
have had a look at the Geranium today and there are quite a few single holes in multiple buds. The adult Moth is still hanging around in the Geranium.
We have been cutting the flowers off when they are spent. Should they be left on or is their pupae stage pretty quick. The spent flowers go in our compost not the bin. We certainly don't mind having these cute little moths around. It was good to see the moth still around there today, it even posed for more photos on the Geranium but don't have any room on this sighting for any more photos, but couldn't resist taking his cuteness "Battle moth" anyhow.

donhe wrote:

10 May 2018

Yes: leave the dead flowers on.. If you carefully dissect the buds with holes: you should be able to find some larvae. I found the pupae attached to a stem just below the bud, as in the photo in
http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/pter/anisodactylus.html
but maybe some pupate inside the eaten-out bud. I think the pupation period is about a week in summer, but maybe this late they may over-winter as a pupa. I would be interested to know what you can find.

RodDeb wrote:

10 May 2018

Thanks, will leave the flowers on from now on.
Will keep you posted, thanks for your help.
regards, Deb and Rod

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Location information

Coordinates 149.131148 -35.408285
Places Macarthur, ACT

Sighting information

1 Abundance
6 May 2018 01:27 PM Recorded on
RodDeb Recorded by
Collections
RodDeb Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr Other moths Moths (Lepidoptera) Insects

Additional information

Geranium plant in a pot with red flowers Associated plant
12mm to 25mm Animal size

Species information

Sphenarches anisodactylus Scientific name
Geranium Plume Moth Common name
Not Sensitive
Cosmopolitan
Minor weed or pest
Up to 669.8m Recorded at altitude
Machine learning
External link More information

Record quality

Images or audio
More than one media file
Verified by an expert moderator
Nearby sighting(s) of same species
GPS evidence of location
Description
Additional attributes

Australian Capital Territory

New South Wales

Queensland

Northern Territory

Western Australia

South Australia

Victoria

Tasmania

Sphenarches anisodactylus

3 Geranium Plume Moth at Macarthur, ACT

Identification history

Identify this sighting

User's notes

7 comments

Location information

Sighting information

Additional information

Species information

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