A massive moth that is practically never seen by humans was recently discovered on a construction site at an Australian school.
The massive insect can’t fly because it’s too heavy, and it only grows to full size a few days before mating. Then it perishes.
Giant wood moths (Endoxyla cinereus) are the world’s biggest moth species. Females, which are roughly twice the size of males, may weigh up to 1 ounce (30 grams) and have a wingspan of 10 inches (25 cm) when fully mature, according to the Australian Museum. They reside in Australia and New Zealand’s woods.
The female gigantic wood moth was spotted on the construction site of a new school building at the border of a rainforest by workers at Mount Cotton State School.
The moth was released back into the wild after the builders photographed it.
According to a statement from the school, Meagan Steward, the principal, characterized it as “an astonishing find,” but said that “they were not shocked” because they frequently get a variety of animal visits, including wallabies, koalas, ducks, snakes, tree frogs, possums, and turtles.
The larvae of these colossal insects, sometimes known as witchetty grubs, dig into the roots of eucalyptus trees before reemerging as caterpillars a year later, which utilize silky threads to descend themselves to the ground and feed on the tree’s roots.
According to the Australian Museum, the caterpillars then go through a massive transformation and emerge in their massive ultimate shape.
The smaller males can fly short distances after emerging and look for females to mate with on the ground.
The female will lay roughly 20,000 small eggs, which will hatch into witchetty grubs if reproduction is successful.
According to the Australian Museum, the gigantic moths are seldom observed by people since they die rapidly following the energy-intensive reproductive process.
When the moth was discovered, the school was closed, so children were unable to witness the massive bug up close.
