and I would have been none the wiser. I wanted to try and 
photograph it before returning it to its hakea bush. 
Unfortunately it became a victim of its own youthful 
ingenuity, became entangled in its own silken ladders and 
died. The moth was exactly as described by Dave King 
(2007j. (see illustration). 
Leaf Case-moth Illustration: Dave King 
The large Faggot Case-moth has been kept under 
observation since early December 2012 and was very 
active with a good appetite. On 23 December it appeared 
to be eating little and attached itself near the top of the jar. 
We went away from 24-28 December, so I supplied it with 
plenty of food and air, but it did not appear to have moved 
or eaten over this period. Was it going through a nymphal 
skin-shedding? Then on 29 December it moved to hang 
on the underside of the lid, and soon after the caterpillar 
head appeared at the lid ‘entrance’. I gave it fresh leaves, 
removed the lid and sat back for some quality observation 
time. 
It used silk to negotiate smooth surfaces such as the glass 
jar, and to drop to the ground or even climb back up. 
I changed its landscape several times, repositioning leafy 
twigs, which was meant to make life easier, but it often 
caused problems. A leaf can present a formidable 
obstacle when you have a heavy stick case to carry round, 
particularly if one of the sticks is very long and can get 
caught. The caterpillar usually walked sideways along the 
edge of a stem or leaf, its case hanging down. Time and 
again it would crawl along, try to haul its case over the leaf 
and then retreat, moving along just inside the rim of the jar 
along a silken roadway it had built. It would protrude its 
whole thorax, leaning backwards in search of something 
new to grasp. Inside the case it holds on with its prolegs, 
stubby appendages furnished with a set of micro-hooks 
(crochets) at the end. 
The caterpillar head was shiny black, the body was pale 
grey with black markings, the legs ended in claws. I took 
pity on it and let it walk along my arm and those claws, 
while not piercing the skin, were sharp indeed. 
Then, on 31 December, it gave up all wandering, attached 
itself to the side of the jar, near the top, and has not 
moved since. The head and thorax now appear to be 
protruding and completely covered with silk. Is the 
caterpillar dead or pupating inside the stick case? Is there 
a female inside? Should I place the jar in the vicinity of the 
Fuchsia Gum in Lynne’s garden? 
Case moth caterpillars may live up to a year and may go 
two months in spring without eating (Leach). 
About mid-March many young appear. '... each larva 
lowers itself by a thread. Within an hour, each has made a 
case of silk, sand-grains, scraps of paper, bits of bark or 
leaves, or whatever is available. Her whole life through, 
the female never leaves this. At first the case is carried 
vertically. When alarmed, the larva pulls the case, 
resembling a tiny candle-extinguisher, over the head. 
More material is added to the mouth end, until bits of 
leaves and sticks make the case too heavy, and it hangs 
down. 
The larva is often a great wanderer and may occasionally 
be found on a busy road. The case hangs on a tree 
throughout the winter. In November lictor case-moths may 
have a dozen or more sticks of about the same length, 
though one or two may be longer. These are fastened at 
the top end, but are, at first, free at the bottom, [see 
Lorraine Phelan's video http://bit.ly/11iNSYD]. They may 
be twice the length of the case. Later, the case will be 
found with the sticks firmly sewn down, constituting a rigid, 
strong cylinder, some of the original short cases will be at 
the top, and some at the bottom. Just how the case is 
spread out is not known. The cases are made of silk and 
whatever material is available. (Leach, pp. 306-7). 
Sometimes grass stems, sand grains or even string is 
incorporated into the case.sometimes the twigs are 
arranged in a spiral band to make a perfectly tapering 
case. 
There is more to be learned about them, especially in their 
adult stage, where we rarely encounter them. 
References 
anpsa.org.au 
Horne, P. & Crawford, D (2008) Backyard Insects, 
Miegunyah Press, Carlton, Vic. 
King, D. (2007) Leaf Case-moth Hylarcta huebneri, 
Psychidae, Lepidoptera, Gig Nat., vol. 42, no. 9, p. 13. 
Leach, J.A. (1965) Australian Nature Studies, Macmillan, 
Melbourne. 
Records of bird observations for 2012 and 2011 
T he Geelong Bird Report provides a ‘snap-shot in time’ of 
the birds of the Geelong Region and the more records 
we have of birds in unusual places, unusual numbers (high 
or low) or behaving in interesting or unusual ways, the more 
comprehensive the ‘picture’ will be. So if you have records 
of bird observations for 2012, please sort them out and 
pass them on to Craig (contact details inside back cover of 
Naturalist) so they can be included in the 2012 Geelong 
...Craig Motley, Editor of Geelong Bird Report 
Bird Report. New recording formats are available if you’d 
like to have a try; but the format is not essential. 
Also, it’s not too late for 2011, so if you have records of 
bird observations for 2011 please sort them out and send 
them in as soon as possible. 
2 Geelong Naturalist February 2012 
