Diarsia intermixta

1 Chevron Cutworm, Orange Peel Moth. at Cook, ACT

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Identification history

	Diarsia intermixta	14 Jul 2021	GlennCocking
	Diarsia intermixta	5 May 2021	CathB

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User's notes

The four latest victims of the same spider originally shown in sighting 4373081. The fifth image shows the spider still feeding on the moth on the right in the first three images. Between 17 March and 8 April the spider caught 22 Proteuxoa tortisigna moths (sighting 4378642), the first 7 (?10) of which were confirmed by Glenn Cocking as males. On 24 April, it caught one smaller moth and then nothing else until now. I would be interested to know the sex of these moths if it is possible to tell from these photos.

3 comments

GlennCocking wrote:

5 May 2021

Fascinating! Does she only hunt in phases, or is her catch governed by moth emergences? The two moths in the fourth photo look to me like males, but I could be fooled. Please keep the moths (in a pest proof place), as I think they could be relaxed and unspun in the future if needs be.

CathB wrote:

5 May 2021

She didn't seem to be doing much for a long time, but a couple of days ago she just produced a ninth egg sac and her abdomen was looking very shrivelled. Now after a good feed she is looking quite plump again. So I'm not sure if the trigger is the arrival of more moths or that she needs a good feed after producing her eggs. I've been keeping all the moths if you ever want to look at them.

GlennCocking wrote:

14 Jul 2021

I have the specimens now and will look at them. I've confirmed D. intermixta for the time being so the record isn't hidden in "Unidentified"

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