By Leon Nell

Virtually every single keurboom between Knysna and Plettenberg Bay is infested with a bug that most of us will never see. The female ghost moth (Leto venus) lays her eggs in the soft earth adjacent to the stem or roots of the keurboom and then flies off to die. The larvae make their way up the tree and drill a tunnel through the bark into the wood. As they enlarge the tunnel, the sawdust from which they extract their food, and their droppings, are pushed out of the opening. Once the larvae reach maturity, and just before pupation, they seal the opening with a cap of gummy sawdust. Within the sealed tunnel, the pupae move around with ease by wriggling their abdominal segments which are equipped with ridges and protuberances specifically for this purpose. Before the adult pupa emerges, the cap splits open and the insect works itself out of the tunnel until its wing cases are free. After a minute or two the pupa opens its wings, moving rapidly up the bark of the keurboom before settling down quietly to allow its wings to expand. ………..

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