Reproduction
The larvae develop in the caterpillars of various species of moths. After consuming most of the softer tissues inside of the caterpillar skin, the Scirtetes larva emerges from the host and spins an oval cocoon with quite distinctive colour pattern, usually quite near to the deserted remains of the host.The cocoons have been observed to "jump" due to energetic movement of the larva inside, possibly a means to free the cocoon from the original silk attachment so it can drop to the forest floor in between the leaf litter in order to be better protected for winter and possibly also hidden better from hyperparasitoids.
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