Introduction

Castnioidea comprises the single family, Castniidae. The superfamily is diagnosed by Nielsen and Common (1991: 874).

General References

Nielsen, E.S. & Common, I.F.B. 1991. Lepidoptera (Moths and Butterflies). pp. 817-915, pls 7, 8 in CSIRO (ed.). The Insects of Australia. 2 vols. Carlton : Melbourne University Press xiii + vi + 1075 pp., 8 pls.

History of changes

Introduction

The first Australian castniid species named was Synemon sophia (White), described from Albany, Western Australia, by White (1841). Almost invariably it has been misidentified ever since. Klug (1850) published a detailed account of the species found near Adelaide and Walker (1854a) and Boisduval [1875] catalogued the species then known. Westwood (1877) published a detailed account of the family. Since then the Australian species have not been revised but a revision is currently in progress. The family was included in Seitz's Macrolepidoptera of the World by Strand (1911a) and in Lepidopterorum Catalogus by Dalla Torre (1913).

The family contains 24 described species in Australia, all currently placed in the genus Synemon Doubleday, with another 20 undescribed species.

The biology of Australian species was recorded by Tindale (1928), Common & Edwards (1981) and Edwards (1991b). The known species feed underground on grasses and sedges.

Castniidae occur widely in Australia except for the most arid and saline areas but are absent from Tasmania. The grass feeding species in particular have suffered drastic reductions in distribution from the use of grasslands for agriculture, and some species are endangered or extinct.

General References

Boisduval, J.-A. 1875. [1874] Sphingides, Sésiides, Castnides. In, Boisduval, J.-A. & Guenée, A. (eds). Histoire Naturelle des Insectes. Species Général des Lépidoptères Hétérocères. Paris : Librarie Encyclopedique de Roret Vol. 1 568 pp. [dated 1874 but not published until 1875]

Common, I.F.B. & Edwards, E.D. 1981. The life history and early stages of Synemon magnifica Strand (Lepidoptera: Castniidae). Journal of the Australian Entomological Society 20: 295-302

Dalla Torre, K.W. von 1913. Castniidae: Subfam. Castniinae, Neocastniinae, Pemphigostolinae. Lepidopterorum Catalogus 15: 1-28

Edwards, E.D. 1991. Synemon plana — a grasslands case history. pp. 20-23 in Falconer, R. (ed.). The ACT's native grasslands. Proceedings of a workshop held at the conference room of the National Museum of Australia, Canberra. Canberra : Conservation Council of the South-East Region & Canberra 49 pp.

Klug, [J.C.F.] 1850. Über die Lepidopteren-Gattung Synemon. Nebst einem Nachtrage über Castniae. Abhandlungen der Königlich-Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Berlin 1848: 245-257, l pl.

Strand, E. 1911. Castniidae. 1-4, pls 1, 9 in Seitz, A. (ed.). The Macrolepidoptera of the World. 10. Bombyces and Sphinges of the Indo-Australian Region. 2 vols. Stuttgart : Alfred Kernen Verlag 909 pp., 100 pls.

Tindale, N.B. 1928. Preliminary note on the life history of Synemon (Lepidoptera, Fam. Castniidae). Records of the South Australian Museum (Adelaide) 4: 143-144

Walker, F. 1854. Lepidoptera Heterocera. List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum 1: 1-278

Westwood, J.O. 1877. A monograph of the Lepidopterous genus Castnia and some allied groups. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 2nd Series Zoology 1: 155-207, pls 28-33

White, A. 1841. Notes on some insects from King George's Sound, collected and presented to the British Museum by Captain George Grey. pp. 450-482 in Grey, G. (ed.). Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in North-west and Western Australia, during the years 1837, 38, and 39, under the authorship of Her Majesty's Government. Describing many newly discovered, important, and fertile districts, with observations on the moral and physical condition of the Aboriginal inhabitants, &c & c. 2 vols. London : T. & W. Boone 412+482 pp., frontispiece, 2 maps. [also published in facsimile edition: Expeditions in Western Australia 1837-1839 (1983). Victoria Park : Hesperia Press]

History of changes

• Synemon Doubleday, E. 1846. Descriptions of some new or imperfectly characterized Lepidoptera from Australia. Appendix. pp. 513-521 in Stokes, J.L. (ed.). Discoveries in Australia; with an Account of the Coasts and Rivers Explored and Surveyed during the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, in the Years 1837–38–39–40–41–42–43 by Command of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. Also a Narrative of Captain Owen Stanley's Visits to the Islands in the Arafura Sea. London : T. & W. Boone Vol. 1 pp. xii 1-522. [517].

  Type species:

   Hesperia sophia White, 1841 by subsequent designation, see Fletcher, D.S. & Nye, I.W.B. 1982. Bombycoidea, Castnioidea, Cossoidea, Mimallonoidea, Sesioidea, Sphingoidea, Zygaenoidea. In, Nye, I.W.B. (ed.). The Generic Names of Moths of the World. London : British Museum (Natural History) Vol. 4 xiv+192 pp., frontispiece. [157].

Distribution

States

Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA

ACT, NSW, NT, Qld, SA, Vic, WA: Australian Alps (AA), Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Burt Plain (BRT), Central Arnhem (CA), Carnarvon (CAR), Channel Country (CHC), Central Kimberley (CK), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Coolgardie (COO), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Central Ranges (CR), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Desert Uplands (DEU), Dampierland (DL), Davenport Murchison Ranges (DMR), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Esperance Plains (ESP), Eyre Yorke Block (EYB), Finke (FIN), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Flinders (FLI), Gascoyne (GAS), Gawler (GAW), Gibson Desert (GD), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Jarrah Forest (JF), Kanmantoo (KAN), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), MacDonnell Ranges (MAC), Mallee (MAL), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Mulga Lands (ML), Murchison (MUR), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), Northern Kimberley (NK), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Nullarbor (NUL), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), Pilbara (PIL), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Stony Plains (STP), Sturt Plateau (STU), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tanami (TAN), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP), Warren (WAR), Wet Tropics (WT), Yalgoo (YAL)

Diagnosis

See Williams & Williams (2016: 126).

History of changes

• Synemon anthracica Kallies, A., Edwards, E.D. & Williams, A.A.E. 2020. New and little-known sun-moth species from Australia (Lepidoptera, Castniidae). Zootaxa 4895: 151-195 [169].

History of changes

• Synemon austera Meyrick, E. 1891. Description of New Australian Lepidoptera. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 14: 188-192 (July), 193-199 (Dec.) [189].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) BMNH ♂ ♀, Carnarvon, WA.

Distribution

States

Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA

WA: Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Carnarvon (CAR), Central Kimberley (CK), Coolgardie (COO), Central Ranges (CR), Dampierland (DL), Esperance Plains (ESP), Gascoyne (GAS), Gibson Desert (GD), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Jarrah Forest (JF), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), Mallee (MAL), Murchison (MUR), Northern Kimberley (NK), Nullarbor (NUL), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pilbara (PIL), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tanami (TAN), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Warren (WAR), Yalgoo (YAL)

Ecological Descriptors

Larva feeding underground on rhizomes. Larval foodplant: Chrysopogon fallax (Poaceae).

History of changes

• Synemon brontias Meyrick, E. 1891. Description of New Australian Lepidoptera. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 14: 188-192 (July), 193-199 (Dec.) [189].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) BMNH ♂ ♀, Carnarvon, WA.

Distribution

States

Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA

WA: Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Carnarvon (CAR), Central Kimberley (CK), Coolgardie (COO), Central Ranges (CR), Dampierland (DL), Esperance Plains (ESP), Gascoyne (GAS), Gibson Desert (GD), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Jarrah Forest (JF), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), Mallee (MAL), Murchison (MUR), Northern Kimberley (NK), Nullarbor (NUL), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pilbara (PIL), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tanami (TAN), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Warren (WAR), Yalgoo (YAL)

History of changes

• Synemon catocaloides Walker, F. 1865. Supplement 1. List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum 31: 1-321 [Part 31 dated 1864 but published 11 February, 1865] [44].

  Type data:

   Holotype BMNH ♂, Perth, WA (as 'Swan River').

Distribution

States

Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA

WA: Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Carnarvon (CAR), Central Kimberley (CK), Coolgardie (COO), Central Ranges (CR), Dampierland (DL), Esperance Plains (ESP), Gascoyne (GAS), Gibson Desert (GD), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Jarrah Forest (JF), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), Mallee (MAL), Murchison (MUR), Northern Kimberley (NK), Nullarbor (NUL), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pilbara (PIL), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tanami (TAN), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Warren (WAR), Yalgoo (YAL)

Ecological Descriptors

Larval foodplant: Ecdeiocolea monostachya (Ecdeiocoleaceae).

History of changes

• Synemon collecta Swinhoe, C. 1892. Catalogue of eastern and Australian Lepidoptera Heterocera in the collection of the Oxford University Museum. Part 1. Sphinges and Bombyces. Oxford : Claredon Press viii+324 pp., 8 pls. [151].

  Type data:

   Holotype OUM ♀, 'North Australia'.

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA

NSW, Qld, Vic: Australian Alps (AA), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Channel Country (CHC), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Desert Uplands (DEU), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Flinders (FLI), Gulf Plains (GUP), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Mulga Lands (ML), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP), Wet Tropics (WT)

Ecological Descriptors

Larval foodplant: Austrodanthonia laevis (Poaceae).

General References

Nielsen, E.S., Edwards, E.D. & Rangsi, T.V. (eds) 1996. Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Vol. 4 xiv 529 pp. & CD-ROM. [351: Note #241] (Synemon collecta ab. obscuripennis Strand, 1911. S. collecta ab. obscuripennis Strand and S. collecta ab. simpla Strand, 1911 were described as aberrations of collecta and have not been used as available names. They probably represent undescribed species of the collecta group and are included under collecta for convenience. Naming of the taxa must await a thorough study of the group)

History of changes

• Synemon colona Grund, R. 2011. A new species of Synemon Doubleday (Lepidoptera: Castniidae) from the Colona Plains, South Australia. Australian Entomologist 38(4): 167-178 [168].

  Type data:

   Holotype SAMA ♂, South Australia, Colona, Yalata.
  Paratype(s) SAMA 16♂ 10♀, same locality as for holotype, all collected in March.

Distribution

States

South Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Known only from type locality.

IBRA

SA: Nullarbor (NUL)

Ecological Descriptors

Grassland.

History of changes

• Synemon crocea Kallies, A., Edwards, E.D. & Williams, A.A.E. 2020. New and little-known sun-moth species from Australia (Lepidoptera, Castniidae). Zootaxa 4895: 151-195 [162].
  Zoobank Registration Number:http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:C17AFF30-1035-4A81-8C4F-C33A430A7712

  Type data:

   Holotype ANIC ♂ (15 Oct. 1982 H. Bollam), Leeming, W.A.
  Paratype(s) ANIC various numerous, various locations.

Miscellaneous Literature Names

• Synemon sp. —
  Williams, A.A.E. & Williams, M.R. 2016. A new species of Synemon Doubleday (Lepidoptera: Castniidae) from Western Australia. Australian Entomologist 43(3): 119–134
• Synemon heliopis Meyrick [a misidentification]. —
  Strand, E. 1911. Castniidae. 1-4, pls 1, 9 in Seitz, A. (ed.). The Macrolepidoptera of the World. 10. Bombyces and Sphinges of the Indo-Australian Region. 2 vols. Stuttgart : Alfred Kernen Verlag 909 pp., 100 pls. [2]

Distribution

States

Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

Common Name References

Kallies, A., Edwards, E.D. & Williams, A.A.E. 2020. New and little-known sun-moth species from Australia (Lepidoptera, Castniidae). Zootaxa 4895: 151-195 [162] (Orange-banded Sun-moth)

History of changes

• Synemon directa Westwood, J.O. 1877. A monograph of the Lepidopterous genus Castnia and some allied groups. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 2nd Series Zoology 1: 155-207, pls 28-33 [197].

  Type data:

   Holotype OUM ♂, 'Australasia'.
• Synemon monodesma Lower, O.B. 1905. Descriptions of new Australian Lepidoptera, with synonymic notes. No. XXIII. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 29: 173-180 [173].

  Type data:

   Holotype SAMA ♂, Mt Darling Range, WA.
• Synemon bifasciata Strand, E. 1911. Castniidae. 1-4, pls 1, 9 in Seitz, A. (ed.). The Macrolepidoptera of the World. 10. Bombyces and Sphinges of the Indo-Australian Region. 2 vols. Stuttgart : Alfred Kernen Verlag 909 pp., 100 pls. [3].

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Edwards, E. D. 1996. Castniidae. 138 in Nielsen, E.S., Edwards, E.D. & Rangsi, T.V. (eds). Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Vol. 4 xiv 529 pp. & CD-ROM. [138]

Distribution

States

Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA

WA: Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Carnarvon (CAR), Central Kimberley (CK), Coolgardie (COO), Central Ranges (CR), Dampierland (DL), Esperance Plains (ESP), Gascoyne (GAS), Gibson Desert (GD), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Jarrah Forest (JF), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), Mallee (MAL), Murchison (MUR), Northern Kimberley (NK), Nullarbor (NUL), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pilbara (PIL), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tanami (TAN), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Warren (WAR), Yalgoo (YAL)

Ecological Descriptors

Larval foodplant: Lepidosperma sp. (Cyperaceae).

History of changes

• Synemon discalis Strand, E. 1911. Castniidae. 1-4, pls 1, 9 in Seitz, A. (ed.). The Macrolepidoptera of the World. 10. Bombyces and Sphinges of the Indo-Australian Region. 2 vols. Stuttgart : Alfred Kernen Verlag 909 pp., 100 pls. [2].

  Type data:

   Holotype ZMB ♂, Australia.

Distribution

States

South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA

SA, Vic, WA: Australian Alps (AA), Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Carnarvon (CAR), Channel Country (CHC), Central Kimberley (CK), Coolgardie (COO), Central Ranges (CR), Dampierland (DL), Esperance Plains (ESP), Eyre Yorke Block (EYB), Finke (FIN), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Flinders (FLI), Gascoyne (GAS), Gawler (GAW), Gibson Desert (GD), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Jarrah Forest (JF), Kanmantoo (KAN), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), Mallee (MAL), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Murchison (MUR), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), Northern Kimberley (NK), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Nullarbor (NUL), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pilbara (PIL), Riverina (RIV), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Stony Plains (STP), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tanami (TAN), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP), Warren (WAR), Yalgoo (YAL)

General References

Grund, R. & Stolarski, A. 2012. Taxonomy and biology of Synemon discalis Strand and S. parthenoides R. Felder (Lepidoptera: Castniidae) in South Australia. Australian Entomologist 39(3): 121-160 [147] (immatures described and illustrated)

History of changes

• Synemon edwardsi Williams, A.A.E. & Williams, M.R. 2016. A new species of Synemon Doubleday (Lepidoptera: Castniidae) from Western Australia. Australian Entomologist 43(3): 119–134 [120–132, figs 1–10].

  Type data:

   Holotype WAM E89245 ♂ (21xi.2011), Kukerin Bushland, Western Australia [33°10’36.5”S 118°04’20.9”E].
  Paratype(s) WAM numerous specimens (also in ANIC).

Distribution

States

Western Australia

IBRA

WA: Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Mallee (MAL)

History of changes

• Synemon gratiosa Westwood, J.O. 1877. A monograph of the Lepidopterous genus Castnia and some allied groups. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 2nd Series Zoology 1: 155-207, pls 28-33 [198].

  Type data:

   Holotype OUM ♂, Australia (as 'Nova Hollandia').

Distribution

States

Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA

WA: Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Carnarvon (CAR), Central Kimberley (CK), Coolgardie (COO), Central Ranges (CR), Dampierland (DL), Esperance Plains (ESP), Gascoyne (GAS), Gibson Desert (GD), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Jarrah Forest (JF), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), Mallee (MAL), Murchison (MUR), Northern Kimberley (NK), Nullarbor (NUL), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pilbara (PIL), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tanami (TAN), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Warren (WAR), Yalgoo (YAL)

Ecological Descriptors

Larval foodplant: Lomandra hermaphrodita (Xanthorrhoeaceae).

General References

Nielsen, E.S., Edwards, E.D. & Rangsi, T.V. (eds) 1996. Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Vol. 4 xiv 529 pp. & CD-ROM. [351: Note #239] (Synemon gratiosa Westwood, 1877. Westwood used the multiple original spellings gratiosa and graciosa. As no subsequent author has cited both original spellings together, the choice of the first reviser [was] excercised)

Common Name References

Williams, A.A.E. & Williams, M.R. 2016. A new species of Synemon Doubleday (Lepidoptera: Castniidae) from Western Australia. Australian Entomologist 43(3): 119–134 [119] (Graceful Sun-moth)

History of changes

• Synemon heliopis Meyrick, E. 1891. Description of New Australian Lepidoptera. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 14: 188-192 (July), 193-199 (Dec.) [188].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) BMNH ♂, Geraldton, WA.

Distribution

States

Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA

WA: Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Carnarvon (CAR), Central Kimberley (CK), Coolgardie (COO), Central Ranges (CR), Dampierland (DL), Esperance Plains (ESP), Gascoyne (GAS), Gibson Desert (GD), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Jarrah Forest (JF), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), Mallee (MAL), Murchison (MUR), Northern Kimberley (NK), Nullarbor (NUL), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pilbara (PIL), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tanami (TAN), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Warren (WAR), Yalgoo (YAL)

Ecological Descriptors

Suspected larval foodplants: Ecdeiocolea monostachya (Edeiocoleaceae) and Spartochloa scirpoidea (Poaceae).

History of changes

• Synemon ignita Kallies, A., Edwards, T., Young, A. & Douglas, F. 2016. Synemon ignita sp. nov., a new sun moth species from southern Australia (Lepidoptera, Castniidae). Zootaxa 4092(3): 436–444 [437].

  Type data:

   Holotype ANIC ♂, Kangaroo Island, South Australia [35.58S 137.11E].
  Paratype(s) numerous ♂ & ♀ (ANIC, CAK, CFD, CRG, NMV & SAMA), Kangaroo Island, South Australia; numerous ♂ & ♀ (ANIC, CAK, CFD & CRG), Grampians NP, Victoria.

Distribution

States

South Australia, Victoria

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA

SA, Vic: Kanmantoo (KAN), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP)

History of changes

• Synemon jcaria Felder, R. & Rogenhofer, A.F. 1874. [1874-1875]. Lepidoptera. Heterocera. Noctuida. Reise der Österreichischen Fregatte Novara um die Erde in den Jahren 1857, 1858, 1859. (Zoologischer Theil). Wien. Band 2 (Abtheilung 2). [pl. 79 fig. 6].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) BMNH ♀, Adelaide, SA.

Distribution

States

New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA

NSW, SA, Vic, WA: Australian Alps (AA), Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Carnarvon (CAR), Channel Country (CHC), Central Kimberley (CK), Coolgardie (COO), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Central Ranges (CR), Dampierland (DL), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Esperance Plains (ESP), Eyre Yorke Block (EYB), Finke (FIN), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Flinders (FLI), Gascoyne (GAS), Gawler (GAW), Gibson Desert (GD), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Jarrah Forest (JF), Kanmantoo (KAN), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), Mallee (MAL), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mulga Lands (ML), Murchison (MUR), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), Northern Kimberley (NK), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Nullarbor (NUL), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pilbara (PIL), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Stony Plains (STP), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tanami (TAN), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP), Warren (WAR), Yalgoo (YAL)

Ecological Descriptors

Larval foodplant: Lomandra effusa (Xanthorrhoeaceae).

History of changes

• Synemon laeta Walker, F. 1854. Lepidoptera Heterocera. List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum 1: 1-278 [36].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) BMNH ♀, Australia.
• Synemon vagans Westwood, J.O. 1877. A monograph of the Lepidopterous genus Castnia and some allied groups. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 2nd Series Zoology 1: 155-207, pls 28-33 [198].

  Type data:

   Holotype OUM ♂, Australia (as 'Nova Hollandia').

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Edwards, E. D. 1996. Castniidae. 138 in Nielsen, E.S., Edwards, E.D. & Rangsi, T.V. (eds). Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Vol. 4 xiv 529 pp. & CD-ROM. [138]

Distribution

States

Queensland

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA

Qld: Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Channel Country (CHC), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Desert Uplands (DEU), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Gulf Plains (GUP), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Mulga Lands (ML), Nandewar (NAN), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Wet Tropics (WT)

Ecological Descriptors

Larval foodplant: Lomandra longifolia, L. confertifolia (Xanthorrhoeaceae).

History of changes

• Synemon larissa Grund, R. & Stolarski, A. 2012. Taxonomy and biology of Synemon discalis Strand and S. parthenoides R. Felder (Lepidoptera: Castniidae) in South Australia. Australian Entomologist 39(3): 121-160 [142].

  Type data:

   Holotype SAMA ♂, South Australia, Eyre Peninsula, Heggaton east.
  Paratype(s) SAMA 51♂ 21♀, all Eyre Peninsula.

Distribution

States

South Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA

SA: Eyre Yorke Block (EYB)

Ecological Descriptors

Herbivore (associated flora: Lepidosperma carphoides F.Muell. ex Benth. [CYPERACEAE]).

History of changes

• Synemon leucospila Meyrick, E. 1891. Description of New Australian Lepidoptera. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 14: 188-192 (July), 193-199 (Dec.) [188].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) BMNH ♂ ♀, Geraldton, WA.

Distribution

States

Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA

WA: Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Carnarvon (CAR), Central Kimberley (CK), Coolgardie (COO), Central Ranges (CR), Dampierland (DL), Esperance Plains (ESP), Gascoyne (GAS), Gibson Desert (GD), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Jarrah Forest (JF), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), Mallee (MAL), Murchison (MUR), Northern Kimberley (NK), Nullarbor (NUL), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pilbara (PIL), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tanami (TAN), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Warren (WAR), Yalgoo (YAL)

History of changes

• Synemon magnifica Strand, E. 1911. Castniidae. 1-4, pls 1, 9 in Seitz, A. (ed.). The Macrolepidoptera of the World. 10. Bombyces and Sphinges of the Indo-Australian Region. 2 vols. Stuttgart : Alfred Kernen Verlag 909 pp., 100 pls. [2].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) ZMB ♂, NSW.

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Queensland

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA

NSW, Qld: Australian Alps (AA), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Channel Country (CHC), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Desert Uplands (DEU), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Gulf Plains (GUP), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Mulga Lands (ML), Nandewar (NAN), New England Tablelands (NET), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Wet Tropics (WT)

Ecological Descriptors

Larva in early instars feeds internally in culms of foodplant, later feeding externally, underground, on the rhizomes. Foodplant: Lepidosperma viscidum (Cyperaceae).

General References

Common, I.F.B. & Edwards, E.D. 1981. The life history and early stages of Synemon magnifica Strand (Lepidoptera: Castniidae). Journal of the Australian Entomological Society 20: 295-302 [295]

History of changes

• Synemon maja Strand, E. 1911. Castniidae. 1-4, pls 1, 9 in Seitz, A. (ed.). The Macrolepidoptera of the World. 10. Bombyces and Sphinges of the Indo-Australian Region. 2 vols. Stuttgart : Alfred Kernen Verlag 909 pp., 100 pls. [2].

  Type data:

   Holotype ZMB ♀, Australia.
• Synemon gerda Strand, E. 1911. Castniidae. 1-4, pls 1, 9 in Seitz, A. (ed.). The Macrolepidoptera of the World. 10. Bombyces and Sphinges of the Indo-Australian Region. 2 vols. Stuttgart : Alfred Kernen Verlag 909 pp., 100 pls. [2].

  Type data:

   Holotype ZMB ♂, Australia.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Edwards, E. D. 1996. Castniidae. 138 in Nielsen, E.S., Edwards, E.D. & Rangsi, T.V. (eds). Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Vol. 4 xiv 529 pp. & CD-ROM. [138]

Distribution

States

Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA

WA: Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Carnarvon (CAR), Central Kimberley (CK), Coolgardie (COO), Central Ranges (CR), Dampierland (DL), Esperance Plains (ESP), Gascoyne (GAS), Gibson Desert (GD), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Jarrah Forest (JF), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), Mallee (MAL), Murchison (MUR), Northern Kimberley (NK), Nullarbor (NUL), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pilbara (PIL), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tanami (TAN), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Warren (WAR), Yalgoo (YAL)

Ecological Descriptors

Suspected larval foodplant: Lepidosperma spp. (Cyperaceae).

General References

Nielsen, E.S., Edwards, E.D. & Rangsi, T.V. (eds) 1996. Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Vol. 4 xiv 529 pp. & CD-ROM. [351: Note #239] (Synemon maja Strand, 1911 and S. gerda Strand, 1911 were published simultaneously. S. maja Strand [was] given priority as first reviser)

History of changes

• Synemon nais Klug, 1850.

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) ZMB ♀, Adelaide, SA.

Distribution

States

South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA

SA, Vic, WA: Australian Alps (AA), Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Carnarvon (CAR), Channel Country (CHC), Central Kimberley (CK), Coolgardie (COO), Central Ranges (CR), Dampierland (DL), Esperance Plains (ESP), Eyre Yorke Block (EYB), Finke (FIN), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Flinders (FLI), Gascoyne (GAS), Gawler (GAW), Gibson Desert (GD), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Jarrah Forest (JF), Kanmantoo (KAN), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), Mallee (MAL), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Murchison (MUR), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), Northern Kimberley (NK), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Nullarbor (NUL), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pilbara (PIL), Riverina (RIV), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Stony Plains (STP), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tanami (TAN), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP), Warren (WAR), Yalgoo (YAL)

Ecological Descriptors

Larval foodplant: Austrodanthonia setacea (Poaceae).

History of changes

• Synemon notha Westwood, J.O. 1877. A monograph of the Lepidopterous genus Castnia and some allied groups. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 2nd Series Zoology 1: 155-207, pls 28-33 [197].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) OUM ♂ ♀, Albany, WA.

Distribution

States

Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA

WA: Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Carnarvon (CAR), Central Kimberley (CK), Coolgardie (COO), Central Ranges (CR), Dampierland (DL), Esperance Plains (ESP), Gascoyne (GAS), Gibson Desert (GD), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Jarrah Forest (JF), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), Mallee (MAL), Murchison (MUR), Northern Kimberley (NK), Nullarbor (NUL), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pilbara (PIL), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tanami (TAN), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Warren (WAR), Yalgoo (YAL)

History of changes

• Synemon nupta Westwood, J.O. 1877. A monograph of the Lepidopterous genus Castnia and some allied groups. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 2nd Series Zoology 1: 155-207, pls 28-33 [197].

  Type data:

   Holotype OUM ♂, Western Australia (as 'Australasia occidentalis').
• Synemon pyrrhoptera Lower, O.B. 1892. Descriptions of New South Australian Lepidoptera. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 15: 5-17 [13].

  Type data:

   Holotype SAMA ♂, Fraser Range, WA.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Edwards, E. D. 1996. Castniidae. 138 in Nielsen, E.S., Edwards, E.D. & Rangsi, T.V. (eds). Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Vol. 4 xiv 529 pp. & CD-ROM. [138]

Distribution

States

Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA

WA: Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Carnarvon (CAR), Central Kimberley (CK), Coolgardie (COO), Central Ranges (CR), Dampierland (DL), Esperance Plains (ESP), Gascoyne (GAS), Gibson Desert (GD), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Jarrah Forest (JF), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), Mallee (MAL), Murchison (MUR), Northern Kimberley (NK), Nullarbor (NUL), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pilbara (PIL), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tanami (TAN), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Warren (WAR), Yalgoo (YAL)

History of changes

• Synemon obscurella Westwood, J.O. 1877. A monograph of the Lepidopterous genus Castnia and some allied groups. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 2nd Series Zoology 1: 155-207, pls 28-33 [197].

  Type data:

   Holotype OUM ♂, Australasia.

Distribution

States

Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA

WA: Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Carnarvon (CAR), Central Kimberley (CK), Coolgardie (COO), Central Ranges (CR), Dampierland (DL), Esperance Plains (ESP), Gascoyne (GAS), Gibson Desert (GD), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Jarrah Forest (JF), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), Mallee (MAL), Murchison (MUR), Northern Kimberley (NK), Nullarbor (NUL), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pilbara (PIL), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tanami (TAN), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Warren (WAR), Yalgoo (YAL)

History of changes

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Edwards, E. D. 1996. Castniidae. 138 in Nielsen, E.S., Edwards, E.D. & Rangsi, T.V. (eds). Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Vol. 4 xiv 529 pp. & CD-ROM. [138]

Distribution

States

South Australia, Victoria

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA

SA, Vic: Australian Alps (AA), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Channel Country (CHC), Central Ranges (CR), Eyre Yorke Block (EYB), Finke (FIN), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Flinders (FLI), Gawler (GAW), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Kanmantoo (KAN), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Nullarbor (NUL), Riverina (RIV), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Stony Plains (STP), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP)

Ecological Descriptors

Larva feeding underground on rhizomes and roots. Larval foodplant: Lepidosperma carphoides (Cyperaceae).

General References

Grund, R. & Stolarski, A. 2012. Taxonomy and biology of Synemon discalis Strand and S. parthenoides R. Felder (Lepidoptera: Castniidae) in South Australia. Australian Entomologist 39(3): 121-160 [124]

Tindale, N.B. 1928. Preliminary note on the life history of Synemon (Lepidoptera, Fam. Castniidae). Records of the South Australian Museum (Adelaide) 4: 143-144 [143]

History of changes

• Synemon parthenoides Felder, R. & Rogenhofer, A.F. 1874. [1874-1875]. Lepidoptera. Heterocera. Noctuida. Reise der Österreichischen Fregatte Novara um die Erde in den Jahren 1857, 1858, 1859. (Zoologischer Theil). Wien. Band 2 (Abtheilung 2). [pl. 79, Figs 7, 8].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) BMNH ♀, Adelaide, SA.
• Synemon partita Strand, E. 1911. Castniidae. 1-4, pls 1, 9 in Seitz, A. (ed.). The Macrolepidoptera of the World. 10. Bombyces and Sphinges of the Indo-Australian Region. 2 vols. Stuttgart : Alfred Kernen Verlag 909 pp., 100 pls. [1].

  Type data:

   Holotype ♀, Australia.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Edwards, E. D. 1996. Castniidae. 138 in Nielsen, E.S., Edwards, E.D. & Rangsi, T.V. (eds). Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Vol. 4 xiv 529 pp. & CD-ROM.

Distribution

States

South Australia, Victoria

IBRA

SA, Vic: Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Kanmantoo (KAN), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Victorian Midlands (VM)

General References

Grund, R. & Stolarski, A. 2012. Taxonomy and biology of Synemon discalis Strand and S. parthenoides R. Felder (Lepidoptera: Castniidae) in South Australia. Australian Entomologist 39(3): 121-160 (distribution and immatures)

History of changes

• Synemon parthenoides valma Grund, R. & Stolarski, A. 2012. Taxonomy and biology of Synemon discalis Strand and S. parthenoides R. Felder (Lepidoptera: Castniidae) in South Australia. Australian Entomologist 39(3): 121-160 [137].

  Type data:

   Holotype ♂, South Australia, Yorke Peninsula, Hardwicke Bay.
  Paratype(s) 10♂ 5♀.

Distribution

States

South Australia

IBRA

SA: Eyre Yorke Block (EYB)

History of changes

• Synemon petrophila Kallies, A., Edwards, E.D. & Williams, A.A.E. 2020. New and little-known sun-moth species from Australia (Lepidoptera, Castniidae). Zootaxa 4895: 151-195 [176].

History of changes

• Synemon phaeoptila Turner, A.J. 1906. New Australian Lepidoptera, with synonymic and other notes. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 30: 118-142 [136].

  Type data:

   Holotype ANIC ♂, Kuranda, QLD.
• Synemon josepha Strand, E. 1911. Die indisch-australischen Castniiden. Archiv für Naturgeschichte 77: 137-158 [147].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) ZMB ♀, Cooktown, QLD.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Edwards, E. D. 1996. Castniidae. 138 in Nielsen, E.S., Edwards, E.D. & Rangsi, T.V. (eds). Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Vol. 4 xiv 529 pp. & CD-ROM. [138]

Distribution

States

Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA

NT, Qld, WA: Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Burt Plain (BRT), Central Arnhem (CA), Carnarvon (CAR), Channel Country (CHC), Central Kimberley (CK), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Coolgardie (COO), Central Ranges (CR), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Desert Uplands (DEU), Dampierland (DL), Davenport Murchison Ranges (DMR), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Esperance Plains (ESP), Finke (FIN), Gascoyne (GAS), Gibson Desert (GD), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Jarrah Forest (JF), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), MacDonnell Ranges (MAC), Mallee (MAL), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Mulga Lands (ML), Murchison (MUR), Nandewar (NAN), Northern Kimberley (NK), Nullarbor (NUL), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), Pilbara (PIL), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Stony Plains (STP), Sturt Plateau (STU), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tanami (TAN), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Warren (WAR), Wet Tropics (WT), Yalgoo (YAL)

Ecological Descriptors

Suspected larval foodplant: Chrysopogon setifolius (Poaceae).

General References

Nielsen, E.S., Edwards, E.D. & Rangsi, T.V. (eds) 1996. Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Vol. 4 xiv 529 pp. & CD-ROM. [351: Note #243] (Synemon josepha Strand, 1911. S. josepha was treated as infrasubspecific name by Strand (1911a) and as subspecific name by Strand (1911b))

History of changes

• Synemon plana Walker, F. 1854. Lepidoptera Heterocera. List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum 1: 1-278 [37].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) BMNH ♀, Australia.
• Synemon hesperioides Felder, R. & Rogenhofer, A.F. 1874. [1874-1875]. Lepidoptera. Heterocera. Noctuida. Reise der Österreichischen Fregatte Novara um die Erde in den Jahren 1857, 1858, 1859. (Zoologischer Theil). Wien. Band 2 (Abtheilung 2). [9, pl. 82, fig. 12].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) BMNH ♂ (the type locality is probably the place of dispatch rather than collection as the species does not occur in the neighbourhood of Sydney), Sydney, NSW.
• Synemon maculata Strand, E. 1911. Castniidae. 1-4, pls 1, 9 in Seitz, A. (ed.). The Macrolepidoptera of the World. 10. Bombyces and Sphinges of the Indo-Australian Region. 2 vols. Stuttgart : Alfred Kernen Verlag 909 pp., 100 pls. [2].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) ZMB ♂, Victoria.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Edwards, E. D. 1996. Castniidae. 138 in Nielsen, E.S., Edwards, E.D. & Rangsi, T.V. (eds). Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Vol. 4 xiv 529 pp. & CD-ROM. [138]

Distribution

States

Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA

ACT, NSW, SA, Vic: Australian Alps (AA), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Channel Country (CHC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Central Ranges (CR), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Eyre Yorke Block (EYB), Finke (FIN), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Flinders (FLI), Gawler (GAW), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Kanmantoo (KAN), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mulga Lands (ML), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Nullarbor (NUL), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Stony Plains (STP), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP)

Ecological Descriptors

Larva feeding underground on roots and bases of plants. Larval foodplants: Austrodanthonia carphoides, A. laevis, A. setacea (Poaceae).

History of changes

• Synemon selene Klug, [J.C.F.] 1850. Über die Lepidopteren-Gattung Synemon. Nebst einem Nachtrage über Castniae. Abhandlungen der Königlich-Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Berlin 1848: 245-257, l pl. [249].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) ZMB ♂ ♀, Adelaide, SA.
• Synemon adelaida Swinhoe, C. 1892. Catalogue of eastern and Australian Lepidoptera Heterocera in the collection of the Oxford University Museum. Part 1. Sphinges and Bombyces. Oxford : Claredon Press viii+324 pp., 8 pls. [154].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) OUM ♂ ♀, Adelaide, SA.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Edwards, E. D. 1996. Castniidae. 138 in Nielsen, E.S., Edwards, E.D. & Rangsi, T.V. (eds). Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Vol. 4 xiv 529 pp. & CD-ROM. [138]

Distribution

States

South Australia, Victoria

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA

SA, Vic: Australian Alps (AA), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Channel Country (CHC), Central Ranges (CR), Eyre Yorke Block (EYB), Finke (FIN), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Flinders (FLI), Gawler (GAW), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Kanmantoo (KAN), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Nullarbor (NUL), Riverina (RIV), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Stony Plains (STP), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP)

Ecological Descriptors

Larval foodplant: Austrodanthonia setacea (Poaceae) (Fabian Douglas pers. comm.).

General References

Grund, R., Stolarski, A. & Stevens, M 2019. Rediscovery of Synemon selene (Lepidoptera: Castniidae) in the mid-north of South Australia. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 143(1): 86-91

History of changes

• Hesperia sophia White, A. 1841. Notes on some insects from King George's Sound, collected and presented to the British Museum by Captain George Grey. pp. 450-482 in Grey, G. (ed.). Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in North-west and Western Australia, during the years 1837, 38, and 39, under the authorship of Her Majesty's Government. Describing many newly discovered, important, and fertile districts, with observations on the moral and physical condition of the Aboriginal inhabitants, &c & c. 2 vols. London : T. & W. Boone 412+482 pp., frontispiece, 2 maps. [also published in facsimile edition: Expeditions in Western Australia 1837-1839 (1983). Victoria Park : Hesperia Press] [474].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) BMNH ♀, Albany, WA (as 'King George's Sound').

Generic Combinations

• Synemon sophia (White, 1841). —
  Kallies, A., Edwards, E.D. & Williams, A.A.E. 2020. New and little-known sun-moth species from Australia (Lepidoptera, Castniidae). Zootaxa 4895: 151-195 (changed combination cited)

Distribution

States

Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA

WA: Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Carnarvon (CAR), Central Kimberley (CK), Coolgardie (COO), Central Ranges (CR), Dampierland (DL), Esperance Plains (ESP), Gascoyne (GAS), Gibson Desert (GD), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Jarrah Forest (JF), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), Mallee (MAL), Murchison (MUR), Northern Kimberley (NK), Nullarbor (NUL), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pilbara (PIL), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tanami (TAN), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Warren (WAR), Yalgoo (YAL)

History of changes

• Synemon theresa Doubleday, E. 1846. Descriptions of some new or imperfectly characterized Lepidoptera from Australia. Appendix. pp. 513-521 in Stokes, J.L. (ed.). Discoveries in Australia; with an Account of the Coasts and Rivers Explored and Surveyed during the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, in the Years 1837–38–39–40–41–42–43 by Command of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. Also a Narrative of Captain Owen Stanley's Visits to the Islands in the Arafura Sea. London : T. & W. Boone Vol. 1 pp. xii 1-522. [517].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) BMNH ♀, Australia.
• Synemon mopsa Doubleday, E. 1846. Descriptions of some new or imperfectly characterized Lepidoptera from Australia. Appendix. pp. 513-521 in Stokes, J.L. (ed.). Discoveries in Australia; with an Account of the Coasts and Rivers Explored and Surveyed during the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, in the Years 1837–38–39–40–41–42–43 by Command of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. Also a Narrative of Captain Owen Stanley's Visits to the Islands in the Arafura Sea. London : T. & W. Boone Vol. 1 pp. xii 1-522. [518].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) BMNH ♂, Australia.
• Synemon livida Tepper, 1882.
• Synemon obscura Tepper, 1882.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Edwards, E. D. 1996. Castniidae. 138 in Nielsen, E.S., Edwards, E.D. & Rangsi, T.V. (eds). Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Vol. 4 xiv 529 pp. & CD-ROM. [138]

Distribution

States

South Australia, Victoria

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA

SA, Vic: Australian Alps (AA), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Channel Country (CHC), Central Ranges (CR), Eyre Yorke Block (EYB), Finke (FIN), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Flinders (FLI), Gawler (GAW), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Kanmantoo (KAN), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Nullarbor (NUL), Riverina (RIV), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Stony Plains (STP), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP)

General References

Nielsen, E.S., Edwards, E.D. & Rangsi, T.V. (eds) 1996. Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Vol. 4 xiv 529 pp. & CD-ROM. [351: Note #242] (Synemon theresa Doubleday, 1846 and S. mopsa Doubleday, 1846, were published simultaneously. S. theresa and S. mopsa were synonymized and priority given to S. theresa by Klug (1850) as first reviser)

History of changes

• Synemon wulwulam Angel, 1951.

  Type data:

   Holotype SAMA ♂, Pine Creek, NT.

Distribution

States

Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA

NT, Qld, WA: Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Burt Plain (BRT), Central Arnhem (CA), Carnarvon (CAR), Channel Country (CHC), Central Kimberley (CK), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Coolgardie (COO), Central Ranges (CR), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Desert Uplands (DEU), Dampierland (DL), Davenport Murchison Ranges (DMR), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Esperance Plains (ESP), Finke (FIN), Gascoyne (GAS), Gibson Desert (GD), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Jarrah Forest (JF), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), MacDonnell Ranges (MAC), Mallee (MAL), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Mulga Lands (ML), Murchison (MUR), Nandewar (NAN), Northern Kimberley (NK), Nullarbor (NUL), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), Pilbara (PIL), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Stony Plains (STP), Sturt Plateau (STU), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tanami (TAN), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Warren (WAR), Wet Tropics (WT), Yalgoo (YAL)

Ecological Descriptors

Suspected foodplant: Chrysopogon fallax (Poaceae).

History of changes