Biology:Acyphas semiochrea

Acyphas semiochrea
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Erebidae
Genus:	Acyphas
Species:	A. semiochrea
Binomial name
	Acyphas semiochrea; (Herrich-Schäffer, 1855)
Synonyms
	Porthesia semiochrea Herrich-Schäffer, 1855; Euproctis leucomelas Walker & Westwood, 1855; Orgyia diemenii Herrich-Schäffer, 1858; Porthesia anacausta Meyrick, 1891; Porthesia hololeuca Meyrick, 1891; Leucoma alboanalis Strand, 1914;

Short description: Species of moth

Acyphas semiochrea, the omnivorous tussock moth, is a moth of the subfamily Lymantriinae first described by Gottlieb August Wilhelm Herrich-Schäffer in 1855. It is found along most of the coast of Australia, including: New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia.^[1]

The wingspan is about 30 mm. Adult females are white and have an orange tuft on the tail. Males are also white but sometimes have a dark mark at the tornus of each forewing or a broad dark band along the margin of each forewing. The hairs around the thorax are sometimes yellowish. Sometimes the black skin of the thorax and/or abdomen shows through between the white hairs.

It is considered a pest on Pinus radiata, but has also been recorded feeding on Acacia, Eucalyptus, Pultenaea, Dodonaea, Choretrum, Myoporum and Tamarix. The caterpillars are brown and hairy, with a pencil of black hairs each side of its head and a hairy tail.