''Aenetus eximia'' is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of ...

of the family

Hepialidae The Hepialidae are a family of insects in the lepidopteran order. Moths of this family are often referred to as swift moths or ghost moths. Taxonomy and systematics The Hepialidae constitute by far the most diverse group of the infraorder Exo ...

. It is known from southern

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia, to

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan ...

is about 70 mm. Adult males are blue-green. Females are green with two spots on each forewing. The hindwings are orange with green borders. The larvae feed on a wide range of plants, including '' Syzygium smithii'', ''

Eucalyptus grandis ''Eucalyptus grandis'', commonly known as the flooded gum or rose gum, is a tall tree with smooth bark, rough at the base fibrous or flaky, grey to grey-brown. At maturity, it reaches tall, though the largest specimens can exceed tall. It is f ...

'', ''

Waterhousea floribunda ''Syzygium floribundum'', synonym ''Waterhousea floribunda'', is a rainforest tree of eastern Australia. It grows along streams from the Williams River (New South Wales) near Dungog (32° S) to Mackay (21° S) in central eastern Queensland. Kn ...

'', ''

Tristaniopsis ''Tristaniopsis'' is a group of shrub and tree in the myrtle family Myrtaceae described as a genus in 1863. They have a wide distribution in Southeast Asia, New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ...

'', '' Doryphora sassafrass'', '' Daphnandra micrantha'', ''

Glochidion ferdinandi ''Glochidion ferdinandi'', with common names that include cheese tree (see below), is a species of small to medium–sized trees, constituting part of the plant family Phyllanthaceae. They grow naturally across eastern Australia, from south–eas ...

'', '' Nothofagus moorei'', '' Prostanthera lasianthos'', ''

Dodonaea viscosa ''Dodonaea viscosa'', also known as the broadleaf hopbush, is a species of flowering plant in the ''Dodonaea'' (hopbush) genus that has a cosmopolitan distribution in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions of Africa, the Americas, south ...

'', '' Diploglottis australis'', '' Pomaderris aspera'', '' Dendrocnide excelsa'', ''

Lantana camara ''Lantana camara'' (common lantana) is a species of flowering plant within the verbena family (Verbenaceae), native to the American tropics. It is a very adaptable species, which can inhabit a wide variety of ecosystems; once it has been introduc ...

'' and '' Olearia argophylla''.Australian Faunal Directory
/ref> They live in tunnels and dig down into the trunk and root of their host plant. Pupation takes place inside the tunnel.

References

Moths described in 1869 Hepialidae {{Hepialidae-stub