''Lichenaula comparella'' 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 Francis Walker in 1864. 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

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. 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 about 18 mm. The forewings are snow white, with fuscous markings. The costal edge is narrowly fuscous towards the base and there is a strongly marked oblique fascia near the base, as well as a broad fuscous blotch on the middle-half of the inner margin, enclosing a small white spot. This blotch narrows in the disc and gives off one of which reaches the costa at half. The other is prolonged beneath the costa towards the base of the wing; and there is an irregular blotch extending from the costa at five-sixths to the anal angle, giving off a fine line joining the central blotch near the inner margin, and a short line to the costa at two-thirds. There are two or three fuscous dots on the hindmargin. The hindwings are pale grey.Xyloryctine Moths of Australia

References

Lichenaula Moths described in 1864 {{Xyloryctidae-stub