New Zealand common bag moth

Only the male turns into a flying moth. The female has no wings and never leaves her bag.

You can guess whether a bag belongs to a boy or a girl. Males stick many leaf bits all along it, females only a few near the narrow end.

The female lays her eggs inside her own bag, and the tiny caterpillars float away on silk threads or the wind.

Māori stories say its cocoon was the goddess of music, Raukatauri, and it inspired a traditional flute.

The bag grows longer at the front as the caterpillar grows.