''Clerarcha grammatistis'' is a
moth
Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...
in the family
Xyloryctidae
Xyloryctidae is a family of moths contained within the superfamily Gelechioidea described by Edward Meyrick in 1890. Most genera are found in the Indo-Australian region. While many of these moths are tiny, some members of the family grow to a wing ...
. It was described by
Edward Meyrick
Edward Meyrick (25 November 1854 – 31 March 1938) was an English schoolmaster and amateur entomologist. He was an expert on microlepidoptera and some consider him one of the founders of modern microlepidoptera systematics.
Life and work
Ed ...
in 1890. It is found in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, where it has been recorded from
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
.
The
wingspan
The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...
is 21–26 mm. The forewings are ochreous grey, irregularly and suffusedly irrorated (sprinkled) with white and with a black longitudinal dash beneath the costa near the base, as well as a small white spot in the disc at two-fifths, followed and often preceded by small suffused spots of black scales, and a small blackish suffused spot on the fold rather obliquely before this. There is a small transverse whitish spot in the disc at two-thirds, posteriorly suffusedly margined with black, and followed by some scattered black scales. There is also an indistinct cloudy whitish line from the costa beyond the middle very obliquely outwards to near the apex, then sharply angulated, and continued to the anal angle. The hindwings are pale whitish fuscous.
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References
Xyloryctidae
Taxa named by Edward Meyrick
Moths described in 1890
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