On the evening of the 12th May 2016 there was a mass emergence of little white moths called
Chamaita barnardi (Walker). They were so numerous they appeared as snowflakes. The tiny moths seemed to be everywhere in the Kuranda area even on the busy Kennedy Highway leading to Cairns. As far as I can tell, the larvae are unknown. The following night, there were not so many.
Chamaita barnardi (Walker)
These moths measure only 5-6 mm so there must have been millions of them emerging at approximately the same time. What triggered such an emergence and where where the larvae?
This little moth seems to be seasonal. It is not always found at lights as are the two below.
All belong to the Tiger Moth Family, the Arctiidae, and are placed in the subfamily Lithosiinae. I have dealt with these moths
before in this blog.
Other members of the Lithosiinae were found at the lights with the little moths:
Lyclene quadrilineata (Pagan.)
Teulisna bipunctata (Walker)
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