Photos / Sounds

What

Rusty Tussock Moth (Orgyia antiqua)

Observer

annelised

Date

August 3, 2020 08:46 AM AKDT

Description

Individual is 2.5cm. Photography taken just after its "capture".

It's a girl!!!!! She spent 15 days in her cocoon and 24 hours before getting out of it, she had already attracted a male, see: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/57280942

This is a crazy day! I checked this cocoon around 9:30am this morning and nothing was happening. Then, based on the time stamps of my camera, at 10:42am, she was out and I immediately fed this observation with pics and additional notes.
11:53am: a male shows up!
1:01pm: she's already laid about 100 eggs!
~4pm: no pulse on her abdomen. I think she's dead or dying.

What a short and intense moment for this lady Rusty Tussock Moth!

Sept. 2, 2020: the individual is actually not dead. I saw it moving and walking around her eggs yesterday.

May 31st 2021: eggs have hatched today

Rusty Tussock Moth - Photo (c) Andrey Ponomarev, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Andrey Ponomarev
khruska's ID: Rusty Tussock Moth (Orgyia antiqua)
Added on August 31, 2020
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