Macleay's Swallowtail Moth
Lyssa macleayi
Insecta
RARE
Stats
- Lifespan
- A few weeks
- Size
- Huge
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Social
- Solitary
- Biome
- Tropical rainforest
- Range
- Australia and New Guinea
- Movement
- Flight
- Breeding
- Egg-laying
- Defense
- Camouflage
- Status
- Rare
About
A large, striking swallowtail moth native to Queensland and Papua New Guinea, with creamy white wings marked by delicate brown spotting along the margins. It is famous for spectacular mass migrations—sometimes numbering in the millions—that sweep along the Australian coast each autumn.
Life cycle
- 1.eggA tiny ribbed egg laid on the underside of a host-plant leaf, hatching within days.
- 2.caterpillarA voracious caterpillar feeds and molts through several instars, growing rapidly.
- 3.cocoonA silk cocoon spun in leaf litter or soil while the body remodels into a winged adult.
- 4.mothA winged adult with feathery antennae and scaled wings, most active after dark.
Learn more
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Lepidoptera
- Family
- Uraniidae
- Genus
- Lyssa
- Species
- Lyssa macleayi