MASSIVE Moth......what type?

[koubee]

Just had this HUGE moth bashing against my window.
So i bravely sent my hubby out to get take a look.
It happily sat on his hand and was vibrating as it sat there.
We later discovered it was laying eggs, there were hundreds.
Anyone know what type of moth it is?
It was as big as my husbands thumb.

 

[bulionz]

hey i think there some sort of cloth moth we heaps come thourgh owe house i fed a couple to my beardie o and thats small to wat they get 2

 

[koubee]

cool thanks, i'll google it.
It had such a fat meaty body, i considered giving it to my frog.

 

[shlanger]

Goat Moth, (cossid)? Its larvae is the 'bardi grub'. excellent murray cod bait!
Bardi grums build verticle tubes/tunnels in the ground under eucalypts, eg red gum, the roots of which they suck sap from. In autumn on a wet night they hatch from the pupae stage and fly to the nearest light!

 

[koubee]

just googled "cloth moth" and it's HEAPS bigger than that. I've never seen anything like it. It's like a weaner rat with wings.

 

[shlanger]

Try catching as many as you can and freeze them for animal food?

 

[koubee]

Ahh thanks shlanger. We have heaps of bardi grubs here.

 

[koubee]

It's layed heaps of eggs....should they hatch?
I'll go out and see if i can find anymore. They'd make a great meal for my frog or beardies.

 

[Goodoo]

Shlanger is right. They hatch in Autum almost always on a rainy night. The Bardi grubs are are always found under gum trees like Red Gums and Sugar Gums. The moths must lay their eggs on those trees. I think the grubs must feed on the leaves before they drop to the ground and burrowing.

 

[Sel]

Yeh, looks like a bardi moth.. or whatever they are called..big ugly things.

I used to use bardi grubs for fishing wen i lived in the country,,, fishies love em

 

[Stompsy]

Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew

 

[bulionz]

o so i was right well in that case glad i can help lol

 

[andyscott]

My Frilled Necks love them, the adults have tug of wars over them.

Im not sure what they are called but I get quite a few around my area, in april-may.
Hopefully its an early season and they turn up at my place soon.

 

[koubee]

My frog didn't want to eat it, maybe it was too big. It has layed literally thousands of eggs.
My daughter said there was heaps up at her school, so i'm going hunting when i take them to school. Woohoo, free beardie food.

 

[Pike01]

Looks like a small wood moth,try googling wood moth.

 

[koubee]

I've googled it and i think it's a goat moth.

 

[daniel1234]

I remember finding them at school as well after a bit of rain, we'd keep them in our pocket like some kind of pet. Can't say I have seen to many since. I think there is only a very small window of time when you can find them after they surface.

 

[Noongato]

When it rained they came in the thousands, and the dogs would eat so many that they would spew a big moth goo.
Rats love them, pretty cool to watch them all swarm over it and tear it up. I dont mean i enjoy killing things, but the co-ordination between a group of rats is a awesome thing to see. They hunt it down as a team.
We called them Cicada moths as kids, cos there about the same size as a large cicada.
Funny if your camping when it rains, they all head towards the light, or the campfire and they go SsssSSSS POP!!!!

 

[Dipcdame]

could be a rain moth, that's what we call 'em here in Adelaide