Observations by williamsmoths

Penultimate instar found in woodpile and about to spin cocoon and pupate

Penultimate instar feeding on grey box

Larvae found on grey box only eats oldest leaves - I have reared this species in the past and identified it when it emerged.

Here is a male anthela connexa in beautiful condition having just emerged. In terms of the expected life-cycle he is right on time as his mother laid him a week before this date last year.

This is the newly constructed cocoon holding the pupae. The setae can be seen poking through its walls. These easily detach and embed in skin to which I can testify.

Another instar and a different colour form

A few more weeks of rearing and the larvae have darkened considerably in colour.

Fast-forward 3 months and the larvae have quite a different appearance

Here are the two larvae still going strong and they have developed deeper orange colour and longer setae

The next form of the larva

Larval form after around 2 months of rearing on black wattle.

2nd instar larvae

This is the first instar larvae of anthela connexa on day of hatch. After some trial and error I finally established acacia mearnsii is an acceptable host.

These are the two eggs laid by the female anthela connexa

Attracted to MV light-sheet captured and photographed the next day. This is possibly the southernmost record for this species?

Attracted to MV light-sheet and photographed the next day