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Project Noah Nature School
Aenetus eximia
A large mossy green, velvety Hepialid moth. Orange, yellow and pink hindwings make this girl quite spectacular when she flies. Estimated wing span of possibly 100mm and body length of 60mm long (including eye-lashes :-)
Found under strong security lights at a local school just after dusk.
As J would say... a 'lifer' !
Uniquely Australian moths found on the east coast from southern Queensland to Tasmania. Females are distinguished by the two spots on each forewing. Adult males are blue-green. The caterpillars live in tunnels up to a metre long dug into the base of a food tree..
http://bie.ala.org.au/species/Aenetus%20...
family: HEPIALIDAE
subfamily: Hepialidae
genus: Aenetus
Spotted on Nov 5, 2013
Submitted on Nov 5, 2013
25 Comments (1–25)
Thank you Caleb.
you have alovely spotting collection mark
I can see why. She's amazing! I quite like the male too :)
Male is very different... http://www1.ala.org.au/gallery2/d/36891-...
Thanks Leanne. Still the nicest moth I've found yet and she was so placid and cooperative. I'm still in love with those eyelashes !! :-)
Oh wow! How did I miss this? What a beauty......
Thanks Shanna. I'd like to find a male now.
WOW! Great find, Argy!!!!
Yes they are 'primitive' and great looking moths Lauren. There are a few special Aussie 'Swift' or 'Ghost' moth families. As I understand it these (Aenetus) will try to lay their eggs onto the bark at the base of a food tree (within a metre of the ground) and the hatched grubs bore into the stem then turn right and make a tunnel. http://trending.proj-noah.appspot.com/sp... They cover the entrance with a very soft curtain of silk and chewed wood. Another family (Abantiades) lives within the ground as a grub and when the time comes the female comes out to mate then flies around over a 200 metre stretch spraying her eggs as she goes. http://trending.proj-noah.appspot.com/sp... .... so much more to learn though.
Remarkable and beautiful! I had never seen a moth from this family and they are so interesting! Supposedly primitive and the female releases large numbers of eggs while in flight instead of laying eggs on plants like other moths (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hepialidae). Does this one do that too?
Nature always has a new surprise! Well done Mark.
You're so right Stephen.. the backlog is enormous. We're becoming wary of looking for more ! Stay tuned.... 8-/
Crikey Mark you are finding some wonderful moths. The drought became a flood! :-)
Thanks Luis.
Beautiful moth Mark!
I can only imagine how lovely it must have looked with wings open. This is a lovely green.and with a splash of orange too.
Thanks Leuba, Reza and Jemma.
congraltulatons!!!
Wonderful !
This one was breath-taking to behold !! I was speechless when shown this beauty. So lucky Mark !
Thanks Bhagya and Ingrid.
So NEAT!
nice one
Thank you Mona. I wish I could show the hind wings but didn't want to hurt it. They are really colourful.
beautiful moth..