Bagworm Moth

This was the first Bagworm Moth that I ever saw. This photo was taken more than eight years ago and I knew absolutely nothing about this kind of moth at that time. So I resolved to try and learn something about these strange moths and I can honestly say that I have tried, but unfortunately without much success. I have now posted 13 spottings of Bagworms on Project Noah (including this one) and I have to admit that I have learned very little. There is a reasonable amount of information available about the life cycle of these moths and I think I may have taken some photos of things which I have not seen mentioned in any internet publications. However, none of that helps me with my main goal which is to be able to identify the species of these moths. The most obvious feature of these moths is undoubtedly the "bag" and it is ironic that this feature which enables immediate identification of the Family Psychidae, hides the moth from view and makes it extremely difficult to identify the species. But before one of my favourite rangers calls me an "idiot", allow me to clarify. Many websites explain that the moth can be identified by the style and materials of its bag. I agree entirely with the truth of that statement because it seems that the bag is always unique to the species. However, there is an inherent problem with this means of identification. We all try to identify the creatures we post on PN. To achieve the identification, we are accustomed to looking for certain characteristics which differentiate one species from another. It might be the eyes, the antennae, the colours. I'm sure you get my drift. This is what we all practice and try to become better at - observing these details and putting them all together to come to a conclusion. We can apply this systematic way of observing to almost any creature and we are comfortable with it. Then along comes a moth expert who tells us to forget all that stuff and start looking at "bags". That is a huge adjustment in our "mindset". Whereas, a moment ago, we were all working on the basis that a small brown bird is much more likely to be a Sparrow than a Condor. Now, we are asked to forget all that and look at some bits of straw and a few fragments of leaves and decide what is inside. So, with our "built-in" recognition system, we have a solid starting point. When it comes to "bag-cognisance" we are greatly disadvantaged. To be fair, I have to state that the male bag moth which does exit from its bag might allow our traditional way of observing things to work, but only to a limited extent. To make sense of the "bag" system, you really have to be able to relate a male bagmoth to its particular bag style. To be certain that a particular moth belongs to a particular bag, you either have to witness its exit from the bag or its mating with a female so that you can see her bag. This is a far cry from our normal modus operandi. In 8 years of trying, and 13 PN spottings, I have not seen a male eclosion or a copulating couple from the Psychidae. On the other hand, I have seen and photographed a great many such events involving "non-bag" creatures. I rest my case.