Subject: Giant Wood Moth
Geographic location of the bug: South East Queensland
Date: 01/19/2020
Time: 03:56 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Is this a giant wood month? I measured my finger spread when I got home and it’s about 150mm! What’s the record length for a moth?
How you want your letter signed: Mal
Dear Mal,
You are correct that this is a Giant Wood Moth, Endoxyla cinereus, and if you examine your image, you will see the exuvia of the pupa in a hole in the tree trunk at the bottom edge of your image. According to Butterfly House: “The caterpillars pupate in their borehole. When the adult moth emerges, the empty pupal skin is left sticking out of the hole.”