Scribbly Gum Moth (1/2)

Lepidoptera: Bucculatricidae

Bucculatricid sp  

If the idiom "little things amuse little minds" is generally true then no doubt I've got a very small mind.

I'm easily entertained by the smallest and what some would consider trivial things.

These moth larvae tracks, for instance. The larva of one of the species of Scribbly Gum Moths chews into the bark and then works its way backwards and forwards either up or down the tree.

As the larva obtains nutrients from the tree it gets bigger and the track it produces gets thicker.

At some point the larva, working in the dark under the bark, decides to do an about-turn and continues back alongside the original track in the direction it started from.

Eventually, assuming no predator has managed to find it under the bark in the meantime, the larva exits the bark and will pupate at the base of the tree to emerge as a fairly non-descript moth.

An artwork documenting most of the life story of a little moth long after the moth has ceased to exist. Fascinating. Who needs a television?