Mottled cupmoth in synchronous emergence.

Sometimes parasitic flies emerge so this set was nice to see.

Here is the larva.

comments (4)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

That's some extraordinary timing! Did you monitor it? Posted 8 years ago
1. Martin Lagerwey
  
  Lion
  
  Communal species or communal instars often synchronize ecdysis. It is the old addage, safety in numbers. Two of the three times I collected these, a Tachinid fly emerged. This time I found eight cups in one clump and kept them in a container. All eight emerged on the same day. I do not collect moths but sometimes I monitor a late instar caterpillar to document its lifecycle. Posted 8 years ago
2. 1. Mark Ridgway
    
    Lion
    
    Unfortunately I now find so many emptied by European wasps. With mandibles like the 'jaws of life' they go straight through the sides and I've watched a single wasp do 5 or 6 at a sitting. I guess the safety in numbers theory now works against them. Posted 7 years ago

Flown Kimmerling

Lion

How precious! Perfect shot! Posted 7 years ago

The Mottled Cup Moth

Cup moths are Australian insects that feed on eucalyptus foliage. Cup moths usually produce two generations of offspring per year. The adult moths are brownish in color and emerge from their rounded or cup-shaped cocoons in late winter or summer. They soon set to work mating and laying eggs, and the caterpillars hatch in spring and fall.

Info 9 0

Similar species: Moths And Butterflies

Species identified by Martin Lagerwey