Friday 26 August 2016

Not so crimson

Found a moth on the window last night that I hadn't seen previously and as a bonus it was quite  distinctive, so I figured it would be not too difficult to identify. Wrong, I scoured the sources and could not get a moth that looked like this one, but the closest I could find gave the clue;  I read that the markings could be quite variable.


All the ones that I could see of the likely species, in the identification sources, had vey different markings on the wings, regarding of the direction and their number. However when I checked images of the species I found many variations of the markings and a few close to this one.
What I didn't see was the crimson colours that are hidden under the wings and on the upper body. However other identification points match, so I concluded that this is an exqmple of a Crimson Tiger Moth Spilososma curvata. They are found in Queensland. NSW and Victoria wher the caterpillars feed on herbacious plants such as dandelions, geraniums and beans.

 

Monday 8 August 2016

On the move

Tomorrow will be day 50 since the python caught the wallaby and today it changed the resting spot from the pavers to the garden. Until now it hasn't been able to lift the weight to get into the garden but a week ago it did move across to the lily bowl to have a deep drink.



I expect that it will not be long now until it moves off to a more secluded spot to rest through the remaining cool weather.