1. Lebendfotos

1.1. Falter

2. Diagnose

2.1. Erstbeschreibung

1-2: Meyrick (1907: 72-73) [nach Copyright-freien Scans auf www.biodiversitylibrary.org]

3. Biologie

3.1. Nahrung der Raupe

Die Raupe ernährt sich rein carnivor. Pierce (1995: 418-419) fasst zusammen: "The most specialized myrmecophages are found among the Australian endemic family Cyclotornidae, exemplified by Cyclotorna monocentra Meyr. The larvae of these moths begin life as parasites of leafhoppers in the Cicadellidae, and then move to the nests of meat ants, Iridomyrmex purpureus Smith, where they complete their development by feeding on the brood. Dodd (1912) observed that females of this species lay large numbers of eggs near the trails of ants attending the leaf-hoppers. The first instar larva spins a pad of silk on the abdomen of the host beneath the wings, with a small sac at the anterior end to protect the larval head. Once the larva leaves the leaf-hopper, it builds an oval, flat cocoon where it molts into a broad, dorsoventrally flattened larva with a small head that can retract into the prothorax. It adopts a particular posture when encountered by a meat ant, raising the anterior half of the body and curling its posterior over its back to expose the anus, Following inspection, a meat ant will carry the larva into the nest, where it becomes a predator on the ant brood. In the nest, the larva continues to produce an anal secretion that is attractive to the ants. [...] Once the larva has completed development, which may take weeks or possibly months, it emerges from the ant nest, and spins its cocoon in a protected spot nearby (Common 1990)."

4. Weitere Informationen

4.1. Faunistik

Locus typicus ist nach Meyrick (1907: 73) "Townsville and Duaringa, Queensland". Die Art kommt nur in Australien vor.

(Autor: Erwin Rennwald)

4.2. Literatur

• Dodd, F.P. (1912): Some remarkable ant-friend Lepidoptera. — Transactions of the Entomological Society of London, 1911: 577-590. [Digitalisat auf]
• Erstbeschreibung: Meyrick, E. (1907): Descriptions of Australasian Micro-Lepidoptera. — The Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 32 (1): 47-150. Sydney (F. Cunninghame & Co.).
• Pierce, N.E. (1995): Predatory and parasitic Lepidoptera: Carnivores living on plants. — Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society, 49 (4): 412-453. [PDF auf images.peabody.yale.edu]