In matters of antennae, I imagine that surface area correlates with sensitivity. The male Hercules Moth Coscinocera Hercules must find his mate within a very short timeframe.
Adult females emerge from the chrysalis without mouth-parts, her 4-5 day life does not include feeding. After she emerges and her wings unfold and dry, she emits pheromones to attract a male. After mating, she will fly away, lay her eggs on the underside of the leaves of a food plant and die shortly after.
Great pic Neil! How cleverly the moth is camoflagued against the tree trunk.
Re your previous pic on the spider, it was a good story that your children took " care" of the spider by feeding it. ( I have two house spiders in the corner of my living room and I never vacuum the corner because I'm a bit scared to hurt the spiders!!! Silly me!
And re the " mask". Might be that the mask have two eyes , some insects mimick huge eyes as to scare away enemied, for example butterflies often have eye patterns.
Indeed, that first photo could be the best yet. I think that Neil should publish his collection of Australian wildlife photos in a book.
Having just emerged from its cocoon, it is unable to fly and very easy to photograph, except for the blustery conditions that required the use of a flash.
The first photograph is absolutely magnificent! How patient was the hercules moth to let you grab that?