Emerging

These photos are both late (for Terri’s Sunday stills challenge) and early.

The rain moth (Trictena atripalpis, or bardee grub), pupates under the ground and appears in late August, either just before or after heavy rains.

I usually see a complete, empty ‘cartridge’ but not this time. The entire shell and moth is about 8cm or 3in. I worked at a school where, at this time, a large section of the grounds was littered with them (right, Kathy? ).

In the case of these shells and moth, it was before. And now I know, like a line of ants, they’ll be my warning of rain.

But while I searched for candidates to photograph, I also found this emerging mushroom.