Hecatesia fenestrata

Hecatesia fenestrata
Male
Female
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Noctuidae
Genus:	Hecatesia
Species:	H. fenestrata
Binomial name
Hecatesia fenestrata Boisduval, 1829

Hecatesia fenestrata, the common whistling moth, is a moth of the Noctuidae family. It is endemic to south-eastern Australia.

Male, side view

Wing detail

The wingspan is about 30 mm. The forewings are black with two white bands. In males, there is a patch without scales, located near the costa. Instead of the scales, they have a ribbed area, used to make a clicking-whistling sound when flying by rubbing this ribbed area against a small protrusion. The noise is probably used to attract females. The hindwings are orange with a black border.

The larvae feed on Cassytha melantha. They have sparse white hairs along the body and irregular bands of orange, black and pale yellow, as well as a prominent lateral pale yellow line, and an area of red near the tail.