Golden Sun Moth, Synemon plana female discovered at The Fair on Friday 10 Nov 2017 (Waltraud Pix)
A female Golden Sun Moth has been spotted at The Fair re-vegetation site on Friday, 10 November 2017; see this Canberra Nature Map sighting http://canberra.naturemapr.org/Community/Sighting/3384817.
These are exiting news because
- The species is declared “Critically Endangered” under Commonwealth legislation and listed “Critically Endangered” in Victoria and “Endangered” in NSW and the ACT;
- This is the second record of the endangered moth species on Mt Majura; Tony Howard discovered males of Golden Sun Moth for the first time in Novemeber 2013 further uphill and northeast of the recent finding (http://canberra.naturemapr.org/Community/Sighting/3384818);
- The adjacency of the 2013 and 2017 records may indicate a viable breeding population in the area;
- The female was spotted in a revegetation area south of the big conifer where volunteers controlled herbaceous weeds and direct seeded native wallaby and spear grass. Solid proof that volunteer work works.
Golden Sun Moth male (Tony Howard, Mt Majura, Nov. 2013)
Golden Sun Moth, Synemon plana, is a day-active moth native to Australia that occurs in Natural Temperate Grasslands and grassy Box-Gum Woodlands.
For further information on the conservation status, habitat requirements and the biology of the Golden Sun Moth click on the following links
Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy
NSW Government Office of Environment and Heritage
ACT Government Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate
