HYPERTROPHINAE in Australia Twig Moths DEPRESSARIIDAE,   GELECHIOIDEA

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

HYPERTROPHINAE caterpillar

HYPERTROPHINAE pupae

HYPERTROPHINAE moths

HYPERTROPHINAE undersides

The Caterpillars of this family all make an extraordinary naked pupa, that stands on end like a twig.

Pupa of Hypertropha tortriciformis.

Unfortunately, they sometimes stick it on a leaf.

The members of the family have often been assigned to other families, including OECOPHORIDAE, and ELACHISTIDAE, but here following Australian Faunal Directory, we treat them as subfamily of DEPRESSARIIDAE. They only occur in Australasia, and most feed on the foliage of various species of Gum Trees ( Eucalyptus, MYRTACEAE ).

The 50 named Australian members of HYPERTROPHINAE are:

Acraephnes inscripta
Acraephnes litodes

Eupselia leucaspis
Eupselia melanostrepta
Eupselia metabola

Eupselia philomorpha
Eupselia satrapella

Eupselia theorella
Eupselia tristephana

Hypertropha chlaenota

Hypertropha thesaurella
Hypertropha tortriciformis

Thudaca calliphrontis
Thudaca campylota
Thudaca circumdatella
Thudaca crypsidesma

Thudaca heterastis
Thudaca mimodora

Thudaca monolechria
Thudaca monolinea
Thudaca obliquella

Thudaca trabeata

previous DEPRESSARIIDAE family

Australian butterflies

Australian Lepidoptera

Australian moths

next DEPRESSARIIDAE subfamily

(updated 31 October 2014, 28 June 2025)