Fraus pteromela (Lower, 1892)
(previously known as Hectomanes pteromela)
Heath Fraus
HEPIALIDAE,   HEPIALOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Fraus pteromela
(Photo: courtesy of Donald Hobern, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory)

The adult moths of this species are brown with a white streak from the base to the tip of each forewing. The scales on the wings are very loose, easily rubbing off. The male moths have a wingspan of about 2.5 cms. The females have a wingspan of about 3.5 cms.

Fraus pteromela
(Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Collection, Chau Chak Wing Museum, University of Sydney)

The species has been found over most of the southern half of Australia, including

  • Queensland,
  • New South Wales,
  • Australian Capital Territory,
  • Victoria,
  • Tasmania,
  • South Australia, and
  • Western Australia.


    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia,
    Melbourne University Press, 1990, pl. 2.7, p. 145.

    Axel Kallies,
    Moths of Victoria - Part 6,
    Ghost Moths - HEPIALIDAE and Allies
    ,
    Entomological Society of Victoria, 2015, pp. 6-9.

    Oswald B. Lower,
    Descriptions of new South Australian Lepidoptera,
    Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia,
    Volume 15 (1892), pp. 5-6.

    Nielsen E.S. & Kristensen N.P.
    Primitive Ghost Moths : Morphology and Taxonomy of the Australian Genus Fraus Walker (Lepidoptera: Hepialidae s. lat.)
    Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera Volume 1,
    CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, 1989.

    Paul Zborowski and Ted Edwards,
    A Guide to Australian Moths,
    CSIRO Publishing, 2007, p. 42.


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    (updated 25 October 2010, 19 December 2025)