On Thu, Sep 06, 2007 at 03:20:03PM +1000, Alberta Hayes wrote:
> Hello all,
> I don't know much about the Pallid Cuckoo but I do know a little about these
> caterpillars.
> The hole that you can see in Martin's picture has actually been dug by the
> caterpillar. They dig the hole to pupate. It's quite fun to watch them as
> they take little bits of dirt out in their mouths and then put it away from
> their holes.
I had a good view of the burrowing behaviour at lunchtime today,
at the BBQ near the Carillon. One large, plump caterpillar was
actively digging a hole; curiously, it always disposed of the
excavated sand to the right, forming a crescent-shaped "dune".
Another nearby was already in its hole, tail first, and may have
been sealing it with silk. On the trodden path near where I saw
the Rose Robin this week, there were plenty of fresh, neat holes
where caterpillars have recently dug in.
This afternoon on Paddys River Road, south of Tidbinbilla, a
Fan-tailed Cuckoo alighted on a roadside fence with a large black
caterpillar in its beak as I drove by; no doubt it was an
unfortunate Apina callisto caterpillar.
--
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Paul Taylor Veni, vidi, tici -
I came, I saw, I ticked.
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