What Bug Is That? The guide to Australian insect families.




Within Australia most species occur in sclerophyll forests of the south; a few are minor pests. Bondia  (6 spp.) has black fore wings and the species are well camouflaged when resting on fire-blackened trunks; larvae tunnel in necrotic bark of Eucalyptus just above the entrance to tunnels made by larvae of Aenetus (Hepialidae). Paramorpha (9 spp.) has pale grey fore wings with delicate markings; P . rhachias has been reared from flowers of Leucopogon attenuatus . Larvae of Carposina autologa feed in the woody seed capsules of Hakea and C . hyperlopha , the largest Australian species, has been reared from flower spikes of Banksia . The larvae of Coscinoptycha improbana bore in the fruits of native and introduced plants, including guava and Citrus .


Small; head with frons smooth-scaled, vertex with lateral tufts; ocelli rarely present; antennae to three-quarter length of fore wing filiform, with dense cilia in male; maxillary palps minute, 1-segmented; labial palps prominent, in male slightly upcurved with porrect apical segment, in female longer and porrect, 2nd segment in both expanded with scales; epiphysis present; hind tibiae with long hair-scales above; fore wing sometimes with pterostigma, usually with raised scale-tufts and row of short setae along dorsum, male retinaculum on Sc, chorda and M-stem absent, R 5 to termen, CuP absent, 1A + 2A fork small; hind wing broader than fore wing, with 2 frenular bristles in female, CuA usually with pecten and males often with specialised scales at base, M-stem absent from cell, Sc + R 1 close to Rs to near end of cell, M 2 and usually M 1 absent, CuP present; abdomen often with paired coremata. Larva with short ventral prolegs, crochets in uniordinal circle sometimes with lateral gap; prothorax with the two L setae on one pinaculum; spiracles on segment 8 more dorsal; tunnels in living bark, fruit or galls. Pupa in larval gallery or in cocoon in soil or crevice.


The family occurs world-wide with the largest number of species in the Pacific region and Asia-Australia.