Meerenvlei eggs, full life cycle

23 February 2017:

I collected a small Cliffortia twig with a cluster of eggs at Meerenvlei next to Kleinmond lagoon. As one does.

8 March 2017:

The eggs started hatching. Turned out to be more than just a few. Hurrah!

5 July 2017:

After several moults the cats are starting to look very familiar. I'm pretty sure it's Cape lappets. They are happy to eat any of a number of Cliffortia species I collect at my convenience, although it's starting to be a challenge to keep up with the growing appetites.

28 September 2017:

The first of my many caterpillars started cocooning. I released some of the caterpillars into my garden as they had become too much to cope with. They are happy to eat my Brazilian pepper tree's leaves.

11 November 2017:

The first moth emerged. After a while there were several new moths each day, and many of them mated. I released the hundreds of eggs - after nearly a year of Cape lappets I'm happy to let nature take its course with the next generation.