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Project Noah Nature School
Spilonota sp.
Two miniature 'raku' pots with hexagonal wavy rims stacked on a callistemon leaf with a mysterious fluffy ball of white inside the top one. Each approx. 4mm wide.
Suburbia; callistemon leaf.
Why are they stacked? Is the white fluffy thing the owner?
It now seems they are the 'nuts' from a nearby species glued to a leaf and each other. (six sided where the callistemon pods are 5 sided)
Update... this looks like the pupal activity of a Tortricidae, Olethreutinae, Eucosmini, SPILONOTA sp. http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/121...
UPDATE: The references to CSIRO; Tortricidae have disappeared. There are now pupal images on Lepidoptera Butterfly House under HYPERTROPHIDAE which seem to reflect this type of pupal activity.
http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au...
Spotted on May 11, 2012
Submitted on May 12, 2012
8 Comments
Tasmania has
https://sites.google.com/site/insectsoft...
cf Spilonota constrictana
Portable case of larvae
Mid May 2012
Knocklofty Reserve, Hobart
On Callistemon pallidus
Ok compare these to the portable Tortricid pupal case behaviour http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/122... - maybe like apprentice case moths but not Psychidae.
..such a mystery. It's amazing how so many little things in nature are made use of by something else..
Oh, too bad! They really do look like raku pots but I'm guessing they are some kind of scale insect.
Thanks Ava. I just spent an hour at the same tree and can't find them again :(
Neat! I hope you discover what they are.
I love a friday night mystery!
Can't resist... going back now to find it again.