Hatched! After 3 months as a chrysallis in a lunch box on our back deck our White stemmed gum moth emerged from the leaf litter we gave her as a beautiful furry soft very large moth. The caterpillar was spectacular - around 13cm long and as thick as a finger. Apparently they reside amongst the tops of gum trees and come down to the leaf litter below when ready for transformation to moth.She has been identified as female, only lives for a few days, does not eat in that time, apparently has insignificant unworkable mouth parts. So we are keeping her inside covered with a net food cover until she is ready to fly away. She doesnt move much and her wings have not opened fully yet. Spectacular.
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