Found on a tree trunk about 250m from our house these larvae were really dense.

Sai Kung 11th August 2010.

Andrew

[ Last edited by  Shirley at 2010-8-12 10:29 ]

http://hkwildlife.net/viewthread.php?tid=34826
similar?
It seems that they love Myrtaceae plants @@
I saw similar swarm of larves on Melaleuca quinquenervia...(paperbark tree)

[ 本帖最後由 Mercury 於 2010-8-12 03:43 編輯 ]

Thank you very much Mercury.  It just goes to show that this site is building a lot of valuable material. The various threads are fascinating and David and the others
have documented this phenomenon closely. The question in my mind is why do they congregate in this way? How many other moth species do this?

UPDATE 12th August 2010

Approx 25% of the larvae have dispersed. 2 solo larvae were seen higher up the trunk and the top right hand quadrant of the block had moved. The tree is Macaranga tanarius.

Andrew

[ Last edited by  Shirley at 2010-8-12 09:28 ]

[ 本帖最後由 Shirley 於 2010-8-12 09:46 編輯 ]

[ Last edited by  Shirley at 2010-8-12 09:56 ]

Further update 13th August 2010.

Now half the original group has disappeared - the bottom right hand quadrant has gone. However on the tree next to it, set further back in the shade and less obvious,
same species, there is now a grouping of probably 3x as many larvae as on the original tree. I have 2 more days left before I go back to the office and will check the
movements over the weekend.

Andrew

Update 14th August 2010 9am

No change in either group of larvae.

[ Last edited by  Shirley at 2010-8-14 09:30 ]