''Xylorycta candescens'' 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

Oswald Bertram Lower Oswald Bertram Lower (28 February 1864 in Norwood, South Australia – 18 March 1925 in Wayville, South Australia)McQuillan, Peter B., Edwards, Ted & Camilleri, Jenny (26 September 2023) Oswald Bertram Lower (1864–1925): a South Australian pio ...

in 1896. 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 the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

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 21 mm for males and 26–35 mm for females. The forewings are shining snow white with the extreme costal edge ochreous, becoming indistinct at around the apex and fuscous at the base. There is a broad light fuscous longitudinal streak along the inner margin, from near the base to the anal angle, and continued right through the cilia, somewhat attenuated anteriorly. The hindwings are pale grey. The larvae feed on ''

Grevillea ''Grevillea'' (), commonly known as spider flowers, is a genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. Plants in the genus ''Grevillea'' are shrubs, rarely trees, with the leaves arranged alternately along the ...

'' species, including '' Grevillea mimosoides''. They tie the leaves or seed pods of their host plant with silk.McMillan, Ian (30 June 2010)
"''Xylorycta candescens'' Lower, 1896"
''Xyloryctine Moths of Australia''. Retrieved 11 July 2020.

References

Xylorycta Moths described in 1896 {{Xyloryctidae-stub