Metura elongatus
Saunders' Case Moth at Higgins, ACT
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| Metura (genus) | donhe | 25 Aug 2025 | |
| Metura elongatus | WendyEM | 24 Aug 2025 | |
| Metura elongatus | AlisonMilton | 24 Aug 2025 |
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9 comments
24 Aug 2025
Interesting one. I have not seen one with whole leaves in the early section of the case, usually just small segments before the sticks.
25 Aug 2025
Decades ago friends called me to a MAJOR outbreak of Metura elongatus in their inner urban (Melbourne) garden. I presumed the winds had not been suitable for ballooning when the larva hatched. At the narrow side of the house were - literally hundreds of the large case caterpillars. The only plants available were Hardenbergia violacea which they had utterly defoliated and stripped, they had then had to move to eating nearby sedge plants. Their cases were a bit odd as a result of available building materials. I relocated buckets of them. I am not sure if I succeeded - my friend had started jumping on them so at least they had a chance. I also collected one, another time, living on Strelitzia sp. - interesting case there too. No Don, I did not successfully raise these through. I don't think I have ever seen the moth, just the fabulous orange and brown larvae.
27 Aug 2025
@WendyEM : Did all the larvae at your friend's house have the ostentatious anal case decoration like this one, or some of them (or none of them)?
27 Aug 2025
They were initially making there houses out of the Hardenbergia violacea but when that ran (was eaten) out they were forced to use the only vegetation available - sedge tussocks - for housing. I suspect this was pre-digital so my photos are way less available (currently residing in Melbourne in slide boxes). BUT I have (MAYBE???) just posted 2 sightings of the 2 individuals I found on a Strelitzia sp. - date 24June2008. Assuming the records have gone up. I am having problems with NM. RE cases what I am saying is the caterpillar uses whatever material is available to it - if it is not it's preferred small sticks it can fashion to its specifications.
27 Aug 2025
This is one I found in Qld 4 years ago https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/93178240
27 Aug 2025
I had two one a Grevillea in my back yard in 2019. One started climbing up the garage door so I took into custody Metura elongatus (Saunders' Case Moth) and raised it to an adult Metura elongatus (Saunders' Case Moth) but it took almost a year.
28 Aug 2025
I was wondering if there were two species, one tidy and one untidy, but I guess it is just early instars attach anything, but get fastidious as they mature.
28 Aug 2025
I know Ethan Beaver was looking for a different one M. phyllosacca which seems to have a "messier" case but iNat records only extend as far south as Sydney
Location information
- Coordinates 149.029604-35.238322
- Places Higgins, ACT
Sighting information
- 1 Abundance
- 24 Aug 2025 12:34 PM Recorded on
- AlisonMilton Recorded by
- Grevillea Associated plant
- 25mm to 50mm Animal size
Collections
- AlisonMilton NatureMapr Canberra & Southern Tablelands Metura elongatus Case moths (Psychidae) Moths (Lepidoptera) Insects
Species information
- Metura elongatus Scientific name
- Saunders' Case Moth Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 819.3m Recorded at altitude
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Synonyms
Metura elongata Metura elongatus
Record quality
Quality score
4 / 7
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- Verified by an expert moderator
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- Additional attributes
- More than one media file
- GPS evidence of location
- Description