Psychidae (family) IMMATURE
Unidentified case moth or bagworm at Copmanhurst, NSW
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| Psychidae (family) IMMATURE | WendyEM | 6 Sep 2025 | |
| Psychidae (family) IMMATURE | donhe | 6 Sep 2025 | |
| Unverified | MazzV | 6 Sep 2025 |
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User's notes
A group of most amazing miniscule casemoth larvae! I’ve noticed clusters of these before, around early Autumn. They’ve been seen in large groups for usually just 1 day, and have all disappeared by the next day. They move very rapidly for their size, and the almost upright angle at which they hold their ‘cases’ is very distinctive (photo 4). Photos 2 & 3 seem to show a very thin off-white line encircling the rear edge of the head, on an otherwise all black body & legs (as far as can be seen). The first few sightings were where the only nearby plant was a grapevine, but there were only grasses below them at this sighting. How they turn up, en masse with their miniscule cases fully constructed, appearing for just one day, and then disappearing to who knows where is a mystery I’ve long wanted to solve!
3 comments
6 Sep 2025
@MazzV : you should carry a little plastic sample bottle with you when you go out , to take any larvae you find into protective custody for rearing to an adult to identify the species.
18 Oct 2025
Wonderful suggestion @donhe! I will be prepared for the next discoveries. If, as with these, it is unclear what they might prefer to eat, are there any sure bets, say particular plant(s) that might have a generally universal appeal?
Location information
- Places Copmanhurst, NSW
Sighting information
- 25 Abundance
- MazzV Recorded by
- Less than 5mm Animal size
Collections
- MazzV NatureMapr New South Wales North Coast Psychidae (family) IMMATURE Case moths (Psychidae) Moths (Lepidoptera) Insects
Species information
- Psychidae (family) IMMATURE Scientific name
- Unidentified case moth or bagworm Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 1694.5m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information
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Synonyms
Psychidae sp.
Record quality
Quality score
6 / 7
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- Description
- Additional attributes
- GPS evidence of location