Encountered this plague of moth cats on a tree trunk.
Any idea what the species ID is?
Early Stages Specialist
A plague of moth cats
Encountered this plague of moth cats on a tree trunk.
Any idea what the species ID is?
Horace
Moth Expert / Forum Facilitator
Hardly a plague - more of a conference of cats, or perhaps a lobby of larvae!
These are Lasiocampidae (Lappet Moths) of some description. In Hong Kong there are two species in the genus Metanastria that exhibit this herding instinct, and young instars in Paralebeda also are gregarious. I'd be inclined to think these may also be a species of Metanastria, or possibly Lebeda.
Roger.
Roger C. KENDRICK Ph.D.
C & R Wildlife, Lam Tsuen, Tai Po, N.T., Hong Kong S.A.R.
HK Moths website: http://www.hkmoths.com
HK Moths Recording Project on i-Naturalist: http://www.inaturalist.org/projects/hong-kong-moths
HK Moths Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/groups/hongkongmoths/
Early Stages Specialist
Thanks, Roger for the information on the possible species ID. It was a very interesting sight of so many cats squeezed side by side, as if they were trying to stay warm in this cold weather.Originally Posted by hkmoths
Hardly a plague - more of a conference of cats, or perhaps a lobby of larvae!
These are Lasiocampidae (Lappet Moths) of some description. In Hong Kong there are two species in the genus Metanastria that exhibit this herding instinct, and young instars in Paralebeda also are gregarious. I'd be inclined to think these may also be a species of Metanastria, or possibly Lebeda.
Roger.
Horace
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