Synemon maja Strand, 1911 Major Sun Moth (one synonym : Synemon gerda Strand, 1911) CASTNIIDAE,   SESIOIDEA

Don Herbison-Evans (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley

(Photo: courtesy of CSIRO/BIO Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

The adult moth of this species has dark brown forewings with three irregular broad pale transverse bands.

listed as Synemon maja
drawing by Strand, lithograph by Hochdanz Co., printed by Werner & Winter, for Seitz
The Macrolepidoptera of the World, Alfred Kernen Verlag, Volume 10 (1933), Plate 9, fig a1,
image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Natural History Museum Library, London.

The hindwings are similar but the bands are broken and yellow. The wingspan is about 4 cms.

listed as Synemon gerda
drawing by Strand, lithograph by Hochdanz Co., printed by Werner & Winter, for Seitz
in The Macrolepidoptera of the World, Alfred Kernen Verlag, Volume 10 (1933), Plate 9, fig a1,
image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Natural History Museum Library, London.

The species has been found in

Western Australia.

underside, listed as Synemon maja
drawing by Strand, lithograph by Hochdanz Co., printed by Werner & Winter, for Seitz
in The Macrolepidoptera of the World,
Alfred Kernen Verlag, Volume 10 (1933), Plate 9, fig a1,
image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Natural History Museum Library, London.

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Further reading :

Embrik Strand,
Bombyces and Sphinges of the Indo-Australian Region,
in Adalbert Seitz (ed.):
The Macrolepidoptera of the World,
Stuttgart : Alfred Kernen Verlag, Volume 10 (1933), p.2, and also Plate 9, fig a1.

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(written 11 July 2015, updated 1 October 2026)