Saunders' Case Moth, Metura elongatus
Plate 40, Figures 1-6. Saunders' Case-Moth, Metura elongata (now known as Oiketicus elongatus)
PZ 40.1 –
Watercolour illustration - larva, pupa and adult Saunders' Case-Moth, Metura elongatus, Arthur Bartholomew, 29 Apr 1861
The larvae and cases of this species far exceed any of the others in size, and when, as last year, they are unusually abundant they attract the attention of the most incurious observer. The larvæ are found indifferently not only on a great variety of native trees, but on a singular variety of imported foreign trees and shrubs in the gardens round Melbourne. The size of the Victorian specimens is slightly less than that of the New South Wales examples, but I do not think there is any specific difference.