Leptocneria reducta

White cedar moth at Melba, ACT

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Identification history

Leptocneria reducta	7 Aug 2023	donhe
Leptocneria reducta	7 Aug 2023	ibaird
Tigrioides alterna	6 Aug 2023	donhe
Unidentified	6 Aug 2023	chriselidie

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User's notes

I found groups of this caterpillar (and four light lavender coloured eggs) hanging underneath several stones. The only plants nearby are a lillypilly (?) hedge and three vines, two of them periwinkle I think. I have never seen any of the caterpillars on any plant. (Please note that the light coloured patches on the stones appear to be old mortar, not lichen.) The ones in the photo appeared to coexist with a redback spider shown to the left. One caterpillar that I took in in June did not eat acacia, eucalypt, grass, lichen, rose leaves or apple slices - but this seemed quite unresponsive and has since died. I am now trying to rear a new one that looks healthier. I have added leaf litter, a stick, a small stone it was found sitting under and some vine leaves to it's jar, but it just climbed to the top to hang off the fabric covering. It has been sitting there for a few days now. I would appreciate if anyone could tell me what this caterpillar may eat. Could it be that it doesn't eat during winter?

15 comments

chriselidie wrote:

6 Aug 2023

My comments ended up as private notes, how do I get them to show up publicly. Repost here?

ibaird wrote:

6 Aug 2023

I can see your private notes, but I'm a moderator - not sure whether that explains it or whether they are generally available. So little is known about many caterpillars its hard to advise. Mostly its a matter of experimentation anyway as to what will be eaten. Because a similar looking caterpillar has rejected food types before may not be a good reason to try wuth those foods again. Most caterillars will die in the wild anyway. I would not rule out lichen becouase these caterpillars look like Arctinidae family. Collecting rocks/ branches with lichen on them may be worth a try. My moderator colleague donhe may respond and be able to give better advice.

Mike wrote:

6 Aug 2023

If you go to edit your sighting you can copy your private note and paste it into the Description (public) note.

chriselidie wrote:

6 Aug 2023

Thank you, that was very helpful, the comments should be visible now.
Thank you ibaird for your suggestions. Yes, I think lichen and algae may be what they eat since they are on rock. I have a feeling these may be cave dwellers? I'll try lichen and see if it shows any interest.

donhe wrote:

6 Aug 2023

Yes, those are probably caterpillars of one of the 215 named Australian species in the tribe Lithosiini, like
http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/arct/lith-cats.html
most of which feed on algae and lichens growing on old stones and timber, but as you can see: we only know what the caterpillars of 21 species look like. Yours looks like that of Tigrioides alterna, but some of the caterpillars of the other 194 species may also look like that. You will have to rear some to the adult moth to find their species.

donhe wrote:

6 Aug 2023

Photos showing more details, like the legs and the head would be useful.

chriselidie wrote:

6 Aug 2023

Thanks for your comments donhe. I've collected a few more of these caterpillars, and housed them with stones, lichen branches, algae and moss. I'll see what they think of the offerings when they have settled down.
Re more photos: I'll add pictures of the underside including the head in a moment.

donhe wrote:

6 Aug 2023

Great additional photos. These show a partial yellow dorsal line which is very similar to that of the larvae of Leptocneria reducta
http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/lyma/reducta.html
although the head and leg colours are different.
The larvae of L. reducta are communal and feed nocturnally, so they shelter in groups like yours, away from the food plant by day. Is there a White Cedar tree nearby?

chriselidie wrote:

7 Aug 2023

This is so interesting! The caterpillar of Leptocneria reducta looks very much like the one here - it even has the two reddish-brown nodules at the end of the yellow dorsal line. There is a cedar tree about ten meters from where they shelter, but I don't think it's white cedar and it has plenty of foliage. I've put some leaves and branches in with the caterpillars just in case, and will post pictures of the tree separately, to see if someone can tell me what it is exactly.
Another interesting thing is that I took a photo of an adult moth on our house wall (near the stone shelter) in late March, and this looks very similar to adult Leptocneria reducta. The colouring was different though, cream wings and two black spots on each forewing.

chriselidie wrote:

8 Aug 2023

Ok, so the cream coloured moth appears to be Anthela ocellata, not the adult form of these caterpillars. Our cedar tree appears to be a US or European cypress (Cupressus sempervirens?; sighting 4503144). It looks then like these are white cedar moth caterpillars that have decided that cypress is good enough for their purposes. Thanks for the great detective work, I'm very happy to know what they are!

donhe wrote:

8 Aug 2023

White Cedars are deciduous and have pinnate leaves, quite unlike a Cypress.
I have known L. reducta larvae walk 50 metres or more seeking a nice crevice in which to form a cocoon and pupate, so their origin may be further from their rock than you thought.

chriselidie wrote:

8 Aug 2023

Oh wow, that's a long way. I'm not sure they are walking anymore now - I watched some caterpillars outside and they hadn't moved 3h after dark yesterday. They are still there now. The ones inside are walking around their container - not sure what to do with them as I don't know where that white cedar tree is. Do you think it's better to just bring them back outside? We do know what they are now anyway.

Mike wrote:

8 Aug 2023

I think caterpillars will wander around the container looking for somewhere to pupate. Eventually they pupate even though they have not found their ideal site.

donhe wrote:

9 Aug 2023

Remember that if nature is in balance, then every pair of adults will produce only 2 viable adults in the next generation. Say if a female lays say 400 eggs (a typical number), of which, say, 200 hatch successfully into caterpillars, then on average 198 of these will die before reaching maturity to procreate. So the death rate of caterpillars in the wild is about 99%. Leaving your caterpillar in the wild is basically a death sentence.

chriselidie wrote:

9 Aug 2023

Thanks a lot for your advice Mike and donhe! It is decided then: the caterpillars will stay inside with me.

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Location information

Places Melba, ACT

Sighting information

16 - 100 Abundance
6 Aug 2023 05:29 PM Recorded on
chriselidie Recorded by
Collections
Insects Moths (Lepidoptera) Noctuoid moths (except Arctiinae)

Additional information

None, found under stones Associated plant
None. Redback nearby. Associated Insect
12mm to 25mm Animal size
Unknown Gender
Larvae Breeding behaviour
Alive / healthy Animal health

Species information

Leptocneria reducta Scientific name
White cedar moth Common name
Not Sensitive
Local native
Non-invasive or negligible
Up to 807.4m Recorded at altitude
Machine learning
External link More information
Synonyms
Lymantria aurivillii

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