JungleDragon is a nature and wildlife community for photographers, travellers and anyone who loves nature. We're genuine, free, ad-free and beautiful.

Join

Portable Pupal Case of a Tortricid Moth (Spilonota constrictana) This was a really interesting find for me. The cracked brown structure up the stem is the dried-up &quot;nut&quot; of this Callistemon but the smaller structure looking like two stacked pots is the portable larval case of a small moth. I believe that these &quot;pots&quot; are made up of tightly rolled bits of bark or leaf and probably stuck together with silk. I have seen up to a 3-pot stack and assume that as the larva outgrows a pot it makes another one to add to the first. Again, The moth larva probably feeds head down and wanders around being protected within the case.<br />
The following spotting shows a similar stack with the outer skin ( exuvia) of the adult still stuck to the base of the stack. Australia,Geotagged,Olethreutinid case moth,Spilonota constrictana Click/tap to enlarge Species introCountry intro

Portable Pupal Case of a Tortricid Moth (Spilonota constrictana)

This was a really interesting find for me. The cracked brown structure up the stem is the dried-up "nut" of this Callistemon but the smaller structure looking like two stacked pots is the portable larval case of a small moth. I believe that these "pots" are made up of tightly rolled bits of bark or leaf and probably stuck together with silk. I have seen up to a 3-pot stack and assume that as the larva outgrows a pot it makes another one to add to the first. Again, The moth larva probably feeds head down and wanders around being protected within the case.
The following spotting shows a similar stack with the outer skin ( exuvia) of the adult still stuck to the base of the stack.

    comments (2)

  1. That is some incredible behavior, what an architects they are. Posted 9 years ago
  2. This was another structure that had us wondering until someone sent me the link on ALA. I can't find much information on this but will keep looking. Another fascinating creature ! Posted 9 years ago

Sign in or Join in order to comment.

Spilonota is a genus of moths belonging to the subfamily Olethreutinae of the family Tortricidae.

Similar species: Moths And Butterflies
Species identified by Mark Ridgway
View Leuba Ridgway's profile

By Leuba Ridgway

All rights reserved
Uploaded Mar 12, 2016. Captured in Wellington Rd, Emerald VIC 3159, Australia.