Mobbed by Moths after a hot Spring Day.

Last night was the first night in ages when my front Porch Light drew in literally hundreds of moths, wasps, and even a few flying Assassin Bugs. It was a big night - the first in ages.

It followed an amazingly clear, warm spring day - which triggered the Sun Orchids to flower. I am not linking the moths with the Sun Orchids, but rather linking both natural phenomena to the unaccustomed burst of solar energy. To understand those statements, you need to remember that I live in Robertson, on top of the Illawarra Escarpment, an area subject to lots of cloudy days, and mists. The sun rises every morning (so the Weather Bureau tells us), but we often do not see it, except through a filtering veil of cloud.

Last night one particular moth, a relatively large one, surprised me, as I have never seen it before.

It fluttered around with soft wings. Its behaviour was quite unlike the Swift Moths and Hawk Moths which are the usual large moths I get here. Fortunately, it was relatively easy to get a likely ID for it. (Remember, I am a rank amateur when it comes to Moths). In this case, I am indebted to Donald Hobern's website.

It is in the Saturniidae family, generally known as "Emperor Moths".

It is the Helena Gum Moth (or the Helena Emperor Moth)  Opodiphthera helena

This moth (and its cousin the Emperor Gum Moth) are frequently reported by other Moth-ers. But in Robertson there are in fact relatively few Eucalypt trees. Our predominant trees are in fact, Sassafras, Coachwood and Blackwood Wattles. There are some Eucalyptus fastigata in the district, but not many within 500 metres of my house.

Opodiphthera helena - the Helena Gum Moth

 It has a soft body, covered with dense hairs.

 This is a back view of the abdomen

It later flew from the light, and dropped to the ground 

(not a good place for a moth)

Opodiphthera helena

Eyes and antennae and hairy legs of Opodiphthera helena

Donald Hobern has images of this species and its close relative the Emperor Gum Moth on this page.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dhobern/sets/72157612709483466/with/3206101478/

EDIT:

In response to a comment (see below) from Dave Rentz I am posting  a link to Buck Richardson's image of the related species Syntherata janetta.  DJW.
He has a bunch of images showing the Saturniidae species he finds in Kuranda.

Others might be interested to bookmark the following link to Buck's Moth ID guide: http://www.leapfrogoz.com.au/LeapFrogOz/Moth_Identification.html
which covers the full range of moths of Kuranda. 

Thanks to Dave Rentz for the comments and links to Buck's site, which take my original post to a whole new level.