A painstaking study by a team of entomologists, botanists, molecular technicians and imaging experts has revealed how and where these moths develop and how they make their scribbles. They have also expanded the list of known #scribbly#gum#moth species from one to 14 and revealed that the moths had an ancestor that inhabited the ancient supercontinent Gondwana. Marianne Horak, the lead author, has written about their amazing discovery.
The scribbly dialect, which zigzags around in a seemingly random and indecipherable pattern, found its place in Australian literature and culture.
In 1955, Judith Wright wrote her poem 'Scribbly Gum': The gum-tree stands by the spring/ I peeled its splitting bark/ And found the written track/ Of a life I could not read.