''Synemon nais'', the orange 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 Victoria,

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 ...

and south-eastern

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 ...

. 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 27 mm for males and 30 mm for females. Adults have orange hindwings with a blackish-brown inner section that surrounds an orange spot. Near the outer edges, there is a row of small black spots that are surrounded by orange.Five threatened Victorian Sunmoths (Synemon species)
/ref> Adults are on wing from mid-October to mid-November. The larvae probably feed on ''

Austrodanthonia setacea ''Rytidosperma setaceum'', known by various common names including small-flowered wallaby-grass, mulga- or bristly wallaby-grass, is a species of grass native to Australia. Originally described by Robert Brown under the name ''Danthonia setacea ...

'' and '' Austrostipa'' species.

References

Moths described in 1850 Castniidae Taxa named by Johann Christoph Friedrich Klug {{Castniidae-stub