Not at all drab

Moths are sometimes thought of as rather drab and uninteresting creatures, but many of our native moths are in fact very attractive. A good example is this moth photographed recently on Three Sisters at Flowerdale. It is a Sparshall’s Moth (Trichiocercus sparshalli), identified as a male by the long white tufts of hair on its abdomen (see photo below). It’s coming to the end of its flying time, which peaks in April/May and again October/November.

 
 
 

The strikingly patterned caterpillars (see photo at left) feed on most eucalypts and sometimes even on she-oaks and tea-trees. They are gregarious when young, but become solitary when close to maturity.