The moth can pass through up to three generations a year. The first two generations produce winged female moths. The female mates with a male and lays between 50 and 300 eggs in a cluster about the size of a five-cent coin. These hatch within a few weeks. Both female and male adults die within a couple of days of the eggs being laid. The last generation of females is flightless. After mating with a male moth the flightless female lays her eggs directly onto the pupal case or chrysalis from which she emerged. These overwintering eggs are laid in autumn and don’t hatch till spring.

Forest and Bird, Issue 281, 1 August 1996, Page 17

The moth can pass through up to three generations a year. The first two generations produce winged female moths. The female mates with a male and lays between 50 and 300 eggs in a cluster about the size of a five-cent coin. These hatch within a few weeks. Both female and male adults die within a couple of days of the eggs being laid. The last generation of females is flightless. After mating with a male moth the flightless female lays her eggs directly onto the pupal case or chrysalis from which she emerged. These overwintering eggs are laid in autumn and don’t hatch till spring.