
Clouded Footman ( Anestia ombrophanes)
Three clouded footman males were seen fluttering around for awhile before settling on a door frame. On closer inspection I could see one of them was successful in finding and mating with a wingless female seen here as a furry white ovoid shape with thin black bands and pale orange spots along the sides. The males were of two sizes and had distinctly pectinated antennae. The mating male can be seen head pointing downwards. Beside the female was a hairy cocoon and an empty pupal case probably recently vacated by the female. Within the hairy cage was also small wrinkled piece of skin shed by the caterpillar before pupating.
The Clouded Footman is a moth of the Arctiidae family. It is known from the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria.
comments (4)
My next post shows the female a little better. Posted 8 years ago
http://cdn.zmescience.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/fence-1.jpg
A mysterious cage-like nest made by an insect. Actually, a spider it turned out. Posted 8 years ago