Poecilasthena Warren, 1894

Young, Catherine J., 2006, Descriptions of the eggs of some southern Australian Geometridae (Lepidoptera), Zootaxa 1287, pp. 1-294 : 1-294

Poecilasthena Warren (Figs 672–684)

Poecilasthena is mainly restricted to southern Australia. This moderately large genus of delicate moths has eighteen Australian species, of which two are illustrated. The eggs of these two species are very similar and are remarkable for the extremely broad cell walls that are humped at each cell junction. The eggs are narrow, elongated and bluntly ovoid and are marked all over by concave hexagonal cells. The cells of P. xylocyma are more clearly defined than P. pulchraria . Aeropyles are very small and inconspicuous with very small openings and in pulchraria distribution is limited to the anterior pole. The micropylar cells in both species are overlain by a very narrow and shallow reticulum. The chorion is very soft, rough and also sparsely blistered in pulchraria .