Too Hot to Handle

Here we have a moth. There are around 22,000 species of moth in Australia, and Adelaide has its fair share.

Initially I didn't have a clue which one it was, but just as I was about to press "publish" I found a site which give me the name. It is an Australian Native - the Budworm Moth (Helicoverpa punctigera). It's considered an agricultural pest, which is a shame, because it's quite pretty.

Apparently the caterpillars can eat tomatoes and maize, and since my neighbours on both sides are growing tomatoes and corn, it's a fairly safe bet that some eggs will be laid on the host plants fairly soon.

It was about 41 degrees today, so not the day for extensive photography safaris. My trips outside were limited to 10 minutes at a time, and most of the images I got (including this one) were pretty ordinary.