Maceda mansueta Walker, 1858
 (one synonym : Calduba obtenta Walker, 1858)
CHLOEPHORINAE,   NOLIDAE,   NOCTUOIDEA,  
  
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Maceda mansueta
(Photo: courtesy of Buck Richardson, Kuranda, Queensland)

The caterpillars of this species are yellow with dark reddish dots, and a double dorsal line. They have all the prolegs so crawl rather than inch along. The caterpillars have been found feeding on the young leaves of:

  • Heritiera ( STERCULIACEAE ).

    Pupation occurs in a brown cocoon spun between two leaves of the foodplant.

    Maceda mansueta
    (Photo: courtesy of Buck Richardson, Kuranda, Queensland)

    The adult moths of this species are brown, green or grey, with a very variable pattern. The wingspan is about 2 cms.

    Maceda mansueta
    (Photo: courtesy of Buck Richardson, Kuranda, Queensland)

    This species is found in across south-east Asia, including

  • Borneo,
  • Malaysia,
  • New Guinea,

    and in Australia in

  • Western Australia,
  • Northern Territory,
  • Queensland, and
  • New South Wales.

    Maceda mansueta
    underside
    (Photo: courtesy of Graeme Cocks, Townsville, Queensland)

    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia,
    Melbourne University Press, 1990, fig. 48.4, p. 457.

    Buck Richardson,
    Mothology,
    LeapFrogOz, Kuranda, 2008, p. 27.

    Buck Richardson,
    Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art,
    LeapFrogOz, Kuranda, 2015, p. 169.

    Francis Walker,
    Noctuidae,
    List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
    Part 13 (1858), p. 1141, No. 1.

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    (updated 1 April 2011, 2 July 2021)