What’s That?

A couple of months ago I was walking the dog and I came across something suspicious on the ground, at first I thought it might be dog poo!

I tentatively looked closer.

Not dog poo!

It looked like a cocoon of some kind and I noticed more of them underneath Eucalyptus trees.

This one made me realize they had come from underground.

This one was far enough out for the creature to escape the cocoon.

This one left the hole completely before the insect emerged.

Back home I was able to discover that I’d been looking at the cocoon of the Rain Moth.

“The Rain Moth’s name stems from the fact that adult moths often emerge after rain, during the autumn months of March and April. They are also known under other common names, Fishermen who use the caterpillar for bait nickname them ‘bardee’ or ‘bardi’ grub. The Aboriginal name is ‘Waikerie’ and one that reflects its short and final life cycle is the Swift Moth. Astonishingly the Rain Moths will only live for one day. For 24 hours their sole role in life is to mate and, if female, to then lay eggs. The moths cannot feed or drink because they don’t have the appropriate mouth parts to do so.”

This information was found here.