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Project Noah Nature School
Elhamma australasiae
A small mottled brown moth with large dark eyes and stout, furry front legs. It rests with wings in a 'tent' shape. The male shows a 'wave' marking on it's sides.
East coast Australia... seasonal and depending upon winds and rainfall.
Although there have been one or two over the past few weeks 3 nights ago we were inundated with them. This gave an opportunity to observe variation in appearance and colour. Pictures #1 and 5 gives an example of colour variation. 2,3 and 4 are the same one. They were all males determined by the white 'wave' shape - the females are plain.
Spotted on Feb 24, 2012
Submitted on Feb 28, 2012
6 Comments
Yes ceherzog the damage seems to be quite serious. Almost every node had the moth. The tree just looks half 'bushed' now :) Some parts have died. I think I will remove most if ever they come back.
So, it is a native species, I assume, by the species name. Does it harm the tree? Nice work!
@martinl.. that's fascinating.
We can bring a few hundred over if you want some. :)
especially like the 4th photo
Argy, these are good shots. I have seen none. Maybe they anticipate the rain and coordinate emergence so that eggs can hatch in humid conditions?
Like a puppy ready to play.