caterpillar identification

[Gullible]

Got home to find this little fury critter on the door step.

Any idea what it is/will grow into?

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/850/yc2z.jpg

Darn it, I've forgotten how to post a photo. :(

[Chucaro]

Looks like a White Stemmed Gum Moth but I leave it to some expert in the forum.

[buckscreek]

Yep agree a gum moth. Adults can grow to 6" wingspan. Look out for those red bristles they can sting, even after they are dead (and preserved in alcohol!)

[Bearman]

Could be correct there, we used to find them on gum/box trees. They have a nest up in the tree like green tree ants and when they move they are nose to tail in a long line. We used to call them itchy grubs because that is what happened if you touched one or disturbed their nest.

[ramblingboy42]

I looked right through a Hastings Deering catalogue and couldn't find anything on it.

[V8Ian]

I looked right through a Hastings Deering catalogue and couldn't find anything on it.

Try West Track. :D

[Ken65]

I looked right through a Hastings Deering catalogue and couldn't find anything on it.
LOL

[TimNZ]

It's not a D10

[rangieman]

It's not a D10

And not a D9:o The title was misleading in my opinion;)

[Bearman]

And not a D9:o The title was misleading in my opinion;)

But it is a low track type, not one of those hi drive units.

[benji]

Maybe a D6 then. Better for working on steep slopes. .. like the sides of trees etc.

That's pretty impressive though.

[Hay Ewe]

Its gonna be one of these

Lego Species

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/01/997.jpg

[Chucaro]

Talking about hijacking the thread, any body to include a Komatsu? :p

[Sitec]

Nah, not a Komatsu, defo a Caterpillar.. Think its one of those flex drive drone prototypes.. The chassis flexes, and each wheel station drives.. They work better in a convoy tho.. The first prototypes have had issues with drivers and capacity!!! :D

[FeatherWeightDriver]

Got home to find this little fury critter on the door step.

Any idea what it is/will grow into?


That's not a caterpillar. It's a small punk sausage dog wearing skewers. :eek:

[bob10]

Possibly this, Bob


https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/01/886.jpg (http://www.butterflyhouse.com.au/) Chelepteryx collesi Gray, [1835]
White Stemmed Gum Moth
(erroneously: Saturnia collesii)
ANTHELINAE , ANTHELIDAE (http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/anth/anthelidae.html)
Don Herbison-Evans (http://donhe.topcities.com/)
( donherbisonevans@outlook.com (donherbisonevans@outlook.com))
and
Alan Tickner & Stella Crossley (http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/logos/stella.html)
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/01/887.jpg
(Photo: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney (http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/macleay/index.html))


This Caterpillar is a great hazard to people climbing Gum trees. Scattered over its skin are tufts of long stiff reddish hairs, which are strong enough to penetrate human skin. When they do, they are very painful, and difficult to remove because they are barbed and brittle. if one should lodge in the eye, it can cause serious sight problems.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/01/888.jpg
(Photo: courtesy of Ian McMillan (http://xyloryctinemothsofaustralia.blogspot.co.uk/), Imbil, Queensland)
The Caterpillar is grey and black, with four of large pale yellow spots on each segment (two on the back, and one each side), each with a tuft of these dangerous hairs.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/01/889.jpg
(Photo: courtesy of Margaret Humphrey (http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/margareth/margareth.html))

It feeds on the leaves of various trees in the family MYRTACEAE (http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/plants/myrt/myrtaceae.html), such as :
Lophostemon confertus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ( Lophostemon confertus ),
Blake Paperbark (http://www.floridaplants.com/Eflora/melaleuca_quinquenervia.htm) ( Melaleuca quinquenervia ), and
various Eucalyptus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ( Angophora and Eucalyptus species ).
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/01/890.jpg
(Photo: courtesy of Ralph Willis)

It is also one of the largest Caterpillars in Australia, growing in length to about 12 cms. Some trees where they may be found most years in Leichhardt are known by local school-children as 'sausage trees' because the Caterpillars look from the ground like sausages growing in the trees.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/01/891.jpg
cocoon
(Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney (http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/macleay/index.html))

When mature, the Caterpillars often pupate on the trunk of the food tree, or else sometimes go walkabout to seek a nice crevice in a wall or some such place. They are so big that they are quite noticeable when they cross roads and paths. They pupate in a leathery double walled cocoon, which is covered by the same hazardous stiff hairs. The Caterpillar pushes these through the silk as the cocoon is constructed. The cocoons are usually well camouflaged, and may be up to 12 cms. long. They are a great hazard to children and others who climb gum trees.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/01/892.jpg
cocoon cut open to show pupa
(Photo: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney (http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/macleay/index.html))

The moths usually emerge in autumn (April, May), although we have had specimens stay as pupae for over 12 months. The moths large and brown, with wavy bands of yellow and grey.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/01/893.jpg
male
(Photo: courtesy of Miriam and Eric Heatwole, Murrumbateman, NSW)
The males have a wingspan of about 14 cms. The males will often come to lights at night, but the females seldom do.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/01/894.jpg
female
(Photo: courtesy of Ronda Warhurst, Warwick, Queensland)

The male moth has a special defence posture when threatened: rearing up, extending its dark fore legs, and exposing the light underside of the wings. In this posture, it resembles a large spider about to strike.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/01/895.jpg
underside
(Photo: courtesy of Laura Levens (http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/laural/laural.html), Victoria)
The females are larger, reaching a wingspan of 16 cms. The moths are often mistaken for bats.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/01/896.jpg
egg mass

The eggs are brown, oval, and rough, each with a length of about 2mm. They are laid in untidy masses of 20 or so, on any arbitrary surface.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/01/897.jpg
mating couple
(Photo: courtesy of Andreas Betzner, Canberra) The species is found over much of south-eastern Australia, including:
Queensland (http://www.ento.csiro.au/aicn/system/c_2310.htm),
New South Wales (http://australianmuseum.net.au/image/Chelepteryx-collesi-Gray),
Australian Capital Territory (http://www.lepbarcoding.org/australia/species.php'region=1&id=67521), and
Victoria (http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/laural/laural.html).
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/01/898.jpg