The Autumn Gum Moth larvae are still doing well, with three leaves on one branch of the Omeo Gum carrying greedy populations of the tiny caterpillars.

Close up showing the brown heads and yellow dots that identify the species.

With the first decent autumn rain coming down, a light was put on to see if the rain moths were emerging, and sure enough a nice specimen flew in.

Abantiades atripalpis.

The daily check of the Yellow Gum trunk revealed this delicate  net-like cocoon, containing the discarded final instar skin, and chrysalis, with not far away a small hairy caterpillar. A check on Don Herbison-Evans’ invaluable site identified them both as Anestia semiochrea, the Marbled Footman, and a few days later a male moth came into the light.

When the wingless female emerges from her cocoon, she mates and then lays her eggs on the cocoon. As luck would have it, while checking the garden trees some days later, this depleted female with her huge clutch of eggs, two hundred and fourteen visible, was found on an Angophora costata trunk and photographed.

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