Emerge, have sex, eat nothing, die: The life and times of the White-Stemmed Gum Moth

It’s kind of fitting that this post is about a creature that can cause irritation if handled, is particularly prickly as they change and then emerges anew in Autumn. You see, we found this absolutely gorgeous big boy on the concrete path near the beach on one of our exercise walks. I’m in the midst of a MAJOR lifestyle overhaul. I keep it pretty much on the down low here, but I have an autoimmune disease. That basically means that my body doesn’t recognise itself and so instead of attacking any bacteria or viruses that enter it, my body instead attacks itself. Constantly. Not just healthy tissue, but joints and some organs. It’s a pain, literally and has become pretty damn debilitating recently.

And so I’m taking matters into my own hands. I’ve gotten rid of my personal Facebook page, I’ve gone 100% plant based and am introducing gentle, regular, non camera based walks. Yes, that part is killing me. Plus I’m supposed to get my heart rate right up and puff and pant and walk around my town not only red faced and sweaty but in leggings. I know. The humiliation 🤣 Apologies to the local community!

Anyway, Matt has been super supportive and joins me before work and we head out and pound the pavement, me listening to true crime podcasts and he listening to whatever the hell he’s into at the moment and we wave to each other and smile and act like we’re totally having the best time and eventually he gets further and further away because he’s heaps fitter than me and I end up sending him a text saying something along the lines of, “I’m dead” or “Must go home and die”. I’m not dramatic. I’m just … passionate (about resting 😉)

So it was actually Matt who found this very big White-Stemmed Gum Moth. In my defence, I was watching a massive White-Bellied Sea Eagle making its way up to the escarpment. But thankfully Matt spotted this striking male moth and not knowing anything about it at all really, I carefully scooped up the quivering insect and carefully transported it off of the thoroughfare and into a small garden. I can totally see why these guys are also known as Bat-Winged Moths because they are huge! This one must have been at least 11cm across, although they can get up to 16cm!

Their life cycle is also pretty interesting. The caterpillars are hairy and the little spikes can break off and imbed underneath your skin. Nasty. They tend to be high in gum trees munching away for most of Spring and early Summer. However, once it’s time to make a cocoon, they tend to come down lower. The cocoon itself is not an issue UNTIL the caterpillar begins to change inside. At that point, it pushes the short stiff hairs that covered its caterpillar body THROUGH the silk of the cocoon so it becomes like a protective pin cushion and provides much ouch and irritation if touched. So, um, don’t touch.

The adults then emerge in Autumn. After all that hard work growing and changing, they have one thing on their mind and that is to find a suitable partner and to mate. There’s no time for pesky trivialities like eating and so they live only two or three days and then give up the ghost. Yikes. So when I said I was in the process of changing and am planning to emerge renewed, I might just choose another animal metaphor 😳