Hello, my name is Ambrose.
Right on my arm here is a case moth caterpillar.
Let's take a look at this magnificent minibeast.
It's native to Australia
and it looks so cute.
You might be hearing some strange noises, but that's because I'm at a park
and there's a lot of doggies around.
Case moth caterpillars make portable homes from their silk
and usually attach leaves and twigs to the outside of their home.
But you might have noticed some case moth homes
with a different design than this one.
That is because different species of case moths
build different designed homes.
Once the larvae has built its home, the caterpillar does not leave its case,
but drags its home around using its three pairs of front legs,
which are on its thorax.
Only the thorax and head have protective chitinous skin,
the unprotected abdomen stays permanently in its case.
The case has two openings,
one at the front and one at the back,
one's so it can move around and the head can see,
and the other one is at the back
where it expels frass, a.k.a. poop.
If you're fortunate, you might see this case moth
hanging from a leaf, eating, or on the move.
I found this one on the move on the grass.
This caterpillar is very timid as it displays a startle response
and retreats back into its home.
Now, that happens very often when it's walking along the grass.
It's quite a quick reflex, as sometimes the caterpillar
completely closes its opening, which is very cute.
When you see a case moth caterpillar on a fence or on a tree,
it could either be resting or pupating,
so it's best to just leave it alone.
The reason I picked this one up
is because it was on the ground walking around.
If the caterpillar is pupating, it firmly anchors the case
and closes off the front opening of its home.
And just before pupating, the caterpillar reverses its position,
so its head is facing downwards.
On a personal note, I didn't reverse my position,
so I was born by a caesarean.
Anyway, back to the case moth caterpillar.
When a male case moth is ready to emerge,
he pushes his pupa out of the end of his case and ecloses.
But the female moth emerges within her case.
So you only know if she's eclosed
because some fluffy silk extrudes from the end of her case.
The female cannot fly, but the male can.
He has blueish, transparent wings, orange antennae and a black body.
You may be wondering how the moths mate
when the female stays inside her home and never leaves.
Well, the male can extend his abdomen
and reach it into the end of a female's case to mate.
When the eggs hatch, the tiny caterpillars
exit through the opening at the end of the case
and lower themselves on silk threads.
They construct small silken cases which they enlarge as they grow.
In the early stages,
the larvae are small and they mine the leaf's surface
rather than eating the whole leaf.
This was a very magnificent minibeast,
but I better say goodbye, so thanks for watching and bye for now,
I'll see you on our next adventure.
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