''Synemon discalis'', the small orange-spotted sun-moth, 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 ...

in the

Castniidae Castniidae, or castniid moths, is a small family of moths with fewer than 200 species: The majority are Neotropical with some in Australia and a few in south-east Asia. These are medium-sized to very large moths, usually with drab, cryptically ...

family. It is found in Australia, including

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

and Victoria.Five threatened Victorian Sunmoths (Synemon species)
/ref> 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 31 mm for males and 35 mm for females. Adults have a series of prominent bright orange spots on the black uppersides of the hindwing. Adults are on wing from late October to mid November The larvae feed on ''

Gahnia lanigera ''Gahnia lanigera'', also known as the black grass saw-sedge, desert saw-sedge or little saw-sedge , is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family that is found in southern Australia. The specific epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, ...

'' and ''

Lepidosperma carphoides ''Lepidosperma'' is a genus of flowering plant of the family Cyperaceae. Most of the species are endemic to Australia, with others native to southern China, southeast Asia, New Guinea, New Caledonia and New Zealand. Species Species include: Abb ...

''. In the early stages, the species is subterranean. It has a life cycle that possibly takes two to three years to complete.

References

Moths described in 1911 Castniidae {{Castniidae-stub