canberrabirds

FW: Caterpillar-eating

To: <>
Subject: FW: Caterpillar-eating
From: "Geoffrey Dabb" <>
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 19:35:53 +1000

This might be of interest to some others.  Who said there are no more all-round field naturalists?

 

From: Geoffrey Dabb [
Sent: Saturday, 29 August 2009 10:38 AM
To: 'Steve Holliday'
Cc:
Subject: RE: [canberrabirds] Leo's you-know-what [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

 

Thanks Steve.  The third picture on that site looks almost exactly the same, even to the dark tip on the horn.  If there are ‘many’ could account in part for attractiveness of that block.  g

 

From: Steve Holliday [
Sent: Saturday, 29 August 2009 8:28 AM
To: 'Geoffrey Dabb'
Subject: RE: [canberrabirds] Leo's you-know-what [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

 

Could well be Plesanemma fucata, not a hawkmoth as their pointy bit comes off the rear end and not the head, as in this beastie.

 

Steve

 

From: Geoffrey Dabb [
Sent: Friday, 28 August 2009 5:29 PM
To: 'Steve Holliday'; 'Perkins, Harvey'
Subject: RE: [canberrabirds] Leo's you-know-what [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

 

Yes well, it’s a bit of a challenge but at the largest size and resolution I can clearly see quite a large orange appendage and small pinkish spots, some larger and darker.  Overall colour was pale green.  I think this was what I also saw a Fan-tailed Cuckoo eating

 

larva sequence.jpg

 

From: Steve Holliday [
Sent: Friday, 28 August 2009 4:45 PM
To: 'Perkins, Harvey'; 'Geoffrey Dabb'
Subject: RE: [canberrabirds] Leo's you-know-what [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

 

Hello chaps

 

The  pointy bit visible in the photos makes it more likely to be a caterpillar I think, possibly a hawk moth (Sphingidae) – see http://linus.socs.uts.edu.au/~don/larvae/sphi/sphi-cats.html

 

The geometrid moth Plesanemma fucata also has a pointy  appendage, it may be the most likely candidate as it feeds on eucalypts  - http://linus.socs.uts.edu.au/~don/larvae/enno/fucata.html

 

cheers

 

Steve

 

From: Perkins, Harvey [
Sent: Friday, 28 August 2009 4:12 PM
To: Geoffrey Dabb
Cc: Steve Holliday
Subject: RE: [canberrabirds] Leo's you-know-what [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

 

 

Looking at the 'caterpillar' in Geoff's photos, it occurs to me that it could be

 

Any comment Steve?

 

Harvey

Harvey Perkins
CRC Strategy and Communication Section
_______________________________________
Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research

 

 

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