Unlike the adult female, who have no wings and remain in the larval case, it is the adult male of the species Metura elongatus moth that have black wings, an orange hairy head and a black and orange banded abdomen. The wingspan is about 30 mm.
The adult male Metura elongatus picture here is on a Austromyrtus dulcis plant that is native to eastern Australia.
- Scientific classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Subphylum: Hexapoda
- Class: Insecta
- Informal: Pterygotes
- Order: Lepidoptera
- Family: Psychidae
- Subfamily: Oiketicinae
- Genus: Metura
- Species: Metura elongatus
Footnote & References
- Saunders’ Case Moth (Metura elongatus), Photographs © Malte Marquarding
- Amateur Entomology Australia Facebook group, https://www.facebook.com/groups/476897096018877/
- Metura elongatus (Saunders, 1847), Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:biodiversity.org.au:afd.taxon:07c53617-7d4b-4256-9c96-f6f84d64afcd
- Saunder’s Case Moth (Metura elongatus), iNaturalistAU, https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/430414-Metura-elongatus
- Metura elongatus (Saunders, 1847), Saunders’ Case Moth, Coffs Harbour Butterfly House, http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/psyc/elongatus.html
- Saunders’ case moth, Metura elongatus, Australian Museum, https://australian.museum/learn/animals/insects/case-moths/
- Metura elongatus, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metura_elongatus
MothsMoths Index Aedia arctipennis Anthela guenei (Four-Spot Anthelid Moth) Australian Striped Hawk Moth Bag-shelter Moth (Ochrogaster lunifer) Case Moths (Variety of Cocoons) Coenotes eremophilae Convolvulus Hawk Moth Emperor Gum Moth (Opodiphthera eucalypti) Four-spotted Cup Moth Green-blotched Moth (Cosmodes elegans) Leaf Case Moth Mistletoe Emperor Moth Mistletoe Moth (Comocrus behri) Plume Moth Rattlepod Moth (Utetheisa) Ribbed Case Moth Sameodes cancellalis Saunders’ Case Moth (Metura elongatus) White-spotted Owl-Moth