Departures

Some of the neighbours have gone suddenly, without word. I can’t say I really knew them well. They lived halfway down Postgate Drive and I stopped by to say hello now and again. I had always admired their intricate home which took ages to build. They were a secretive lot though. Some said they belonged to a ‘Secret Service’.

I learned that night-time was their thing. The younger members ate remarkable amounts of fast food, while the adults, who had been through life changing events, were attracted to visiting others for drinks and snacks. Though no one seems sure of who they were visiting exactly. Except it was a life-giving exchange for both. 

The busy sounds of many weed eater machines echo around the streets lately. It must be that time of year. The neighbours I mention met with weed eaters from the council.

Bagmoths…

There is no trace of them now. Their real estate flattened.  It would have been hard to know they were there. Like I say, they were not well-known folk in the community.

I wrote about these amazing folks in this earlier blog Night of the Bagmoth. They are unique to Aotearoa and one of over 1800 species of New Zealand moths, which science knows so little about. Moths often get a bad rap, but they are wonderful pollinators – second only to bees – mostly at night. They are especially good for our native flowering plants.  Sadly, the bagmoths I met living on Postgate Drive had homes living on yellow flowering broom bushes which is considered a weed.

Goodbye bagmoths.

PS Bagmoth caterpillars create intricate and well camouflaged ‘bags’ with silk and leaf litter which they drag behind them as they munch through leafy stalks at night. Once they’ve eaten enough to metamorphose, they attach the bags firmly onto something, retreat into it and pupate. The adult moths emerge from the bags and fly off to feed and fertilise the females who never leave their bags. They die after they lay the eggs and the tiny caterpillars leave the bag.