Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Xyloryctidae Rank Species | Phylum Arthropoda Order Lepidoptera Genus Cryptophasa | |
Cryptophasa nubila is a moth in the Xyloryctidae family. It was described by Lucas in 1894. It is found in Australia, where it has been recorded from New South Wales and Queensland.
The wingspan is 30-42 mm. The forewings are grey-white freely irrorated with smoky-black scales, the veins smoky-grey. There is a suffusion of smoky-black all around the disc leaving the disc a grey-white as the groundcolour. A similar suffusion is found on the inner border leaving a narrow strip of groundcolour between it and the darker area of the wing. There is no distinct discal spot. In females, the hindwings are white diffused with ashy-grey and with streaks of white from the base in the interneural spaces. The veins are smoky-grey.
The larvae feed on Lophostemon suaveolens, Backhousia myrtifolia, Melaleuca leucadendra, Melaleuca lineariifolia, Callistemon salignus, Callistemon lanceolatus, Syzygium luehmannii and Psidium guava. They bore in the stem of their host plant.