Fruit Tree Borer

Maroga melanostigma

The fruit tree borer is a moth of the family Xyloryctidae. It is native to Australia. The moths confront threats by lying down on their back or side, extending the wings upwards and curling the abdomen to display the yellow tip.
Fruit Tree Borer Maroga melanostigma Attracted to UV light Australia,Eamw moth,Encounter Bay SA,Fruit Tree Borer,Geotagged,Maroga melanostigma,Summer

Appearance

The wingspan is about 40 mm. The adults have satin white forewings, with a black dot near the centre of the wing. The hindwings are grey. The body is black with yellow bands and a yellow tip. The upper part of the legs has orange hairs.
Fruit tree borer This photo shows the underside of the moth in the previous post. I tried to move the moth from the lights as there were many spiders lurking in the fixtures waiting to feast on insects attracted to the lights. As I did so, the moth clung to the small stick and curved the tip of its abdomen and laid on its back making no attempt to fly away. This reportedly is a behaviour seen in this species, which is interesting. Australia,Geotagged,Maroga melanostigma,Spring

Food

The larvae feed on a wide range of trees, including "Acacia" species, especially "Acacia mearnsii". The species is considered a pest on "Ulmus" × "hollandica" 'Wredei', "Platanus orientalis", various maple species and Rosaceae species such as "Malus pumila", "Prunus armeniaca", "Prunus avium", "Prunus persica" and "Rubus idaeus". Other recorded foodplants include "Cassia" species, "Wisteria sinensis", "Carya illinoensis", "Ficus carica", "Citrus" species, "Lantana camara" and "Vitis vinifera".

References:

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Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderLepidoptera
FamilyXyloryctidae
GenusMaroga
SpeciesM. melanostigma
Photographed in
Australia