It was a fantastic night out at Moggs, with many families joining us for a BBQ and walk in the Park – looking for the noisy (yet hard to spot!) Yellow-bellied Glider.
Click the play button to hear the Yellow-bellied Glider
The kids all helped with a tree-shaker activity, where we place a white sheet on the ground and shake a branch above it. All the spiders and other insects fall onto it and we get a chance to look at them. This activity revealed an incredible insect I had never seen before! It’s called Ceraon tasmaniae – in the insect order Hemiptera, in the ‘Typical Treehoppers’ Family. However, there’s no way I’d call it typical! Let’s name it, the ‘Horned Treehopper’.
The moth lights were set up and I had hopes that a Batwing Moth might show up – and sure enough, as soon as it was dark one flew in just before we headed out on our walk.
A large group of all ages explored the pathway and heard the gliders calling all around us, but they proved too difficult to see in the canopy – even with our new night-vision binoculars!
It was very exciting hearing them calling so close, and the UV light showed up a scorpion on the path too which was great for everyone to see.
When we got back, the moth sheet was covered in large male Batwing Moths, we counted at least 16! It was a great chance for everyone to have a close look at these spectacular creatures.
Some of the kids gently handled them, making sure not to touch the wings. Despite their fluttering all around us, none were harmed in any way. When I turned off the light a little later, they flew off into the night, hopefully to find a female!