ANSWER: This wasn’t easy – but this large and beautiful moth was from Australia and is in the family Xyloryctidae (Philarista sp.). We have a handful of representatives of this group here in the US and Ted MacRae over on Beetles in the Bush has a few great photographs of them. Somehow I think we got the short end of the stick because this family reaches the peak of its staggering diversity in Australia. It’s amazing to me that this animal is related to the tiny grey flower moths we have!
Jim Hayden was closest with the guess of an Australian Oecophorid – which I have photographed for next week.
If you’re interested in learning more about this family go check out the Rama-rama Xyloryctine Australia blog!
This week I’m going to make the moth into a challenge. Who can tell me what family this is? Any takers on genus/species? My only hint is that this is a pretty hefty sized moth measuring in at over 53mm and it’s from the California Academy collections.
Arctiidae?
Nope – although superficially similar to an Arctiinae, it’s not a “macro-lep”. (juga, Arctiidae now = Arctiinae (Erebidae))
I searched all through Erebidae and didn’t find anything. Dumb me didn’t even consider non-Nearctic!
Australian oecophorid?
Nope, although closer!
Updated with the answer!
This is an interesting moth which is currently included in the genus Philarista as Philarista sp. 1, although it has yet to be properly investigated. Barcoding results suggest that although it superficially resembles Philarista porphyrinella, it is more likely to be a member of the genus Cryptophasa. Like so many Australian moths it has yet to be described or even undergo genital dissection.
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