Writing Exchange

Jon SullivanCheck out Aotearoa's five-finger looper moth, Xyridacma alectoraria. It's a big, elegant, yellow moth with a fringe of *hot pink*.This one came into my home moth light in January, in Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ, and I uploaded it to <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/iNaturalist" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#iNaturalist</a> today.My best guess for why it looks like this is that the older leaves of its host plant, five-finger, often turn yellow before they fall. I'm not sure why the hot pink works (but it does).<a href="https://inaturalist.nz/observations/267650636" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://inaturalist.nz/observations/267650636</a><a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/mothodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#mothodon</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/moths" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#moths</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/nz" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#nz</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/insects" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#insects</a>

Jon SullivanI've been sorting through moth photos this afternoon and re-found this one I took in 2013. Stare if you dare at the big fluffy face of a NZ Green-Marked Owlet moth.<a href="https://flic.kr/p/e8grDn" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://flic.kr/p/e8grDn</a><a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/mothodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#mothodon</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/nz" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#nz</a>

Jon SullivanI uploaded my insect photos from this month from our house to <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/iNaturalist" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#iNaturalist</a>, and got this new moth species for our property. It's the gold-flecked Dryadaula, *Dryadaula pactolia*, endemic to NZ. Wikipedia tells me that it's got to Europe and the "larva feeds on the fungus Zasmidium cellare found in wine cellars and breweries."No, we don't have a wine cellar or a brewery in our house. Maybe one of the neighbours? I bet they eat other things too.<a href="https://inaturalist.nz/observations/266869438" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://inaturalist.nz/observations/266869438</a><a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/insects" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#insects</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/nz" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#nz</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/mothodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#mothodon</a>

Jon SullivanToday in Cinnabar Moth News!3 of 4 caterpillars I collected on 6 Jan on the NZ native pahohoraka pupated today. The 4th is a prepupa. Oddly, all have fed solely on pahohoraka (Senecio quadridentatus).The small caterpillar I collected in Somerfield on European groundel has moulted.I found *more* caterpillars in the city today, including on the South African gravel groundsel, maybe a new host association. <a href="https://inaturalist.nz/observations/258633900" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://inaturalist.nz/observations/258633900</a><a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/PlantInsectInteractions" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PlantInsectInteractions</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/NZ" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#NZ</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/herbivores" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#herbivores</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/insects" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#insects</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/mothodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#mothodon</a>

Jon SullivanA found this distinctive little moth yesterday in the hills of Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ.It's Opogona comptella, an Australian species that's been in NZ for over a century, and in the South Island since the 1970s. Its caterpillars eat some rotting wood and are supposed to have a particular liking for stem galls on wattles.And, my, is it stylish!<a href="https://inaturalist.nz/observations/258591505" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://inaturalist.nz/observations/258591505</a><a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/nz" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#nz</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/Lepidoptera" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Lepidoptera</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/mothodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#mothodon</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/insects" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#insects</a>

Jon SullivanI just mounted a mōkarakara/NZ magpie moth that I found hit by a car on Friday. It will join the Entomology Collection of <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/LincolnUniversityNZ" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#LincolnUniversityNZ</a> where it, and it's DNA, can add to our knowledge of this species.Currently we've only got mōkarakara around Ōtautahi-Christchurch, but in Nelson and northern NZ, there's now the related Australian species, Nyctmera amicus, and hybrids. I've been looking out for the first amicus to arrive down here.<a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/insects" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#insects</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/nz" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#nz</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/entomology" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#entomology</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/mothodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#mothodon</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/Lepidoptera" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Lepidoptera</a>

Jon SullivanThat's odd! I saw a *cinnabar moth* on my bike into Lincoln today. That's a red and black day flying moth, released into NZ from 1929, on purpose, to biocontrol ragwort.There's no ragwort at Lincoln (at least not where I go). Ragwort is very rare on the irrigated dairy farmland nearby too.I thought mine was the first record for Lincoln, but no. Canterbury Museum technician Mark Fraser saw one here on 30 November.<a href="https://inaturalist.nz/observations/253557826" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://inaturalist.nz/observations/253557826</a> <a href="https://inaturalist.nz/observations/254663441" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://inaturalist.nz/observations/254663441</a><a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/mothodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#mothodon</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/nz" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#nz</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/iNaturalist" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#iNaturalist</a>

Jon Sullivan"Things Moths can do but I Can't"Cartoon by Rohan Chakravarty <a href="https://www.greenhumour.com/2019/08/things-moths-can-do-but-i-cant.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://www.greenhumour.com/2019/08/things-moths-can-do-but-i-cant.html</a><a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/mothodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#mothodon</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/moths" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#moths</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/Lepidoptera" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Lepidoptera</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/cartoon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#cartoon</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/humour" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#humour</a>

Jon Sullivan<a href="https://scicomm.xyz/@dhobern" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@dhobern</a> 😄 That is an *excellent* question. It from a noctuid, one of New Zealand's big forest green moths, in this case the mahoe stripper moth *Feredayia graminosa*.I find that moth wing patterns make excellent desktop backgrounds for computers and smart phones.<a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/mothodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#mothodon</a><a href="https://flic.kr/p/iXA77Q" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://flic.kr/p/iXA77Q</a>

Jon SullivanLast night was an outstanding moth night in Ōtautahi-<a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/Christchurch" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Christchurch</a>, <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/NZ" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#NZ</a>. It was still, warm, and cloudy. Our deck was covered with moths and I tried my best to photograph them all. Here's a sneak peak at last night's moth action. So many moths, of so many shapes and sizes.Every 3 months I do 4 moth light nights at my home, to track how our local moths are doing. I've now got a stack of over a thousand moth photos from 4 days to sort and post up to iNaturalist. <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/mothodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#mothodon</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/moths" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#moths</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/Lepidoptera" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Lepidoptera</a>

Jon SullivanFluffy moth alert!!I had a gum emperor moth come into my moth light last night at home. It's always a treat to see them close up. Here in Ōtautahi-Chirstchurch, NZ, they are massively larger than the other local moths (and *so* much fluffier).They were introduced to NZ from Australia and their caterpillars feed on eucalypts.<a href="https://inaturalist.nz/observations/250375900" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://inaturalist.nz/observations/250375900</a><a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/mothodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#mothodon</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/moths" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#moths</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/Lepidoptera" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Lepidoptera</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/NZ" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#NZ</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/insects" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#insects</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/Christchurch" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Christchurch</a>

Marcus Müller<a href="https://chaos.social/@gsuberland" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@gsuberland</a> btw, you are aware of the <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/mothodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#mothodon</a> tag, right?

Ewen Bell 📷Rain started up this evening. Frogs were happy. Chatty too. Then the moths started taking shelter under the verandah. Lots and lots and lots of moths. Not sure what kind they are. Reminds me of Bogong High Plains but a little bigger. Considerable variance in shading. Many are exhausted, but a few bigger ones are making a flap under the lights.Oh and a ringtail dropped by to have himself a jolly good snack as well. Good meal for the little fella.<a href="https://photog.social/tags/Mothodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Mothodon</a> <a href="https://photog.social/tags/Mothstodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Mothstodon</a> <a href="https://photog.social/tags/IsDonIsGood" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#IsDonIsGood</a>

budakwallflowers<a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/Singapore" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Singapore</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/moth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#moth</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/motte" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#motte</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/mothodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#mothodon</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/butterfly" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#butterfly</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/schmetterling" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#schmetterling</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/insect" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#insect</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/macro" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#macro</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/nature" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#nature</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/bug" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#bug</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/animal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#animal</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/wildlife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#wildlife</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/hdb" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#hdb</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/wall" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#wall</a>

budakgeome3dae<a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/Singapore" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Singapore</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/moth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#moth</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/motte" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#motte</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/insect" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#insect</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/bug" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#bug</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/macro" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#macro</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/biodiversity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#biodiversity</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/mothodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#mothodon</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/nature" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#nature</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/animal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#animal</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/wildlife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#wildlife</a>

Jon SullivanHere's a good article on ABC News in Australia about some of the moth discoveries folk have been making with the <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/iNaturalist" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#iNaturalist</a> app. Check out the crayon emerald moth!<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-03/rare-moths-among-citizen-scientists-15k-nature-observations/103494576" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-03/rare-moths-among-citizen-scientists-15k-nature-observations/103494576</a><a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/mothodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#mothodon</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/Lepidoptera" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Lepidoptera</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/CitizenScience" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#CitizenScience</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/Australia" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Australia</a>

budakmarch ado about mothing<a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/Singapore" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Singapore</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/moth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#moth</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/motte" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#motte</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/mothodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#mothodon</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/insect" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#insect</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/bug" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#bug</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/nature" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#nature</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/macro" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#macro</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/biodiversity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#biodiversity</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/animal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#animal</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/wildlife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#wildlife</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/forest" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#forest</a>

budakshow a leg<a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/Singapore" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Singapore</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/mothodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#mothodon</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/moth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#moth</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/motte" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#motte</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/kupu" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#kupu</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/insect" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#insect</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/biodiversity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#biodiversity</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/nature" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#nature</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/bug" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#bug</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/animal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#animal</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/wildlife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#wildlife</a> <a href="https://kopiti.am/tags/macro" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#macro</a>

Jon SullivanToday I also saw my first pink-tipped yellow moth, Gymnobathra flavidella. It's a common NZ endemic moth in the North Island, but rarer in the south. Banks Peninsula in Canterbury is it's southern limit.This is now the 9th observation of the moth from Canterbury on <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/iNaturalist" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#iNaturalist</a>.<a href="https://inaturalist.nz/observations/196824125" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://inaturalist.nz/observations/196824125</a><a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/mothodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#mothodon</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/moth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#moth</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/insects" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#insects</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/Lepidoptera" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Lepidoptera</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/NZ" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#NZ</a> <a href="https://mastodon.nz/tags/iNaturalistNZ" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#iNaturalistNZ</a>

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