A case moth
A case moth caterpillar on the rail of the veranda. It is a Saunders’ Case Moth, Metura elongatus. Taken at Manilla, NSW on a sunny afternoon in May 2015.
climate by surly
Climate Change at Manilla, NSW, Australia
HI. I’ve not seen one of these before but no surprises there I’m from the UK. Will it turn into a beautiful moth or does it’s impressiveness stop with the size of its cocoon. great photo, did you take it?
Hi Jayne
Yes, I took the photos.
I am fairly sure it is a Saunders Case Moth, Metura elongatus, in the family Psychidae. We see the cases quite often in gardens or in the bush. The male moth is rather odd looking, and the female is not seen.
This is a good web-site:
http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/psyc/elong.html
The Queensland museum has a fact sheet, accessed by entering the keyword “Case moths” in the search panel on:
http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/Learning+Resources/Resources#.VWxkuM-qpBc
This species of case moth is also on youtube.
Thanks for the info I will have a look at those links. Cheers. Have a good one. x