Rain has brought forth the swift moths. I saw the first yesterday — it battered the window pane so heavily that I thought the glass would break — and tonight they are out in numbers. About a dozen are fluttering around the carport and patio lights as I type this. I think these are
Oxycanus buluwandji, a species endemic to the Wet Tropics.
Swift or ghost moths (family Hepialidae) have long lives as caterpillars, but only a transient existence as adults. The moths last for a day. So brief are their lives that they do not even have mouthparts.
I'm going to switch off the lights so they don't waste their last few hours.
