Inconclusive sighting

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Unidentified at suppressed - 21 Dec 2020

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Identification history

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Sorry Alison - see comments below

	Insufficient or inconclusive evidence	1 Feb 2021	MichaelMulvaney
	Geometridae (family) IMMATURE	3 Jan 2021	AlisonMilton

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User's notes

A puzzle. I've seen a lot of the white egg-like objects in these photos quite a bit. I've never heard of a caterpillar making any deposits however, these appeared on the inside of the container lid the day after I collected this caterpillar. There was nothing in the container with it. I did neglect to add the usual netting between the lid and container but it would mean that a (possible) moth was inside my house to make these deposits, but odd that they are on the inside of the lid. Will be interesting to see if these actually develop into anything.

6 comments

donhe wrote:

3 Jan 2021

I cannot see the prolegs to be sure it is a Geometridae rather than say an Erebidae.

donhe wrote:

3 Jan 2021

The white things look like cocoons of Chalcid parasitic wasps that were infecting the caterpillar.

AlisonMilton wrote:

3 Jan 2021

Thanks Kim, how do the parasites 'exit' from the caterpillar? Does this mean the caterpillar is now free of the parasites? Should I remove the cocoons?

Now that the caterpillar has moved away from the cocoons I'll try to take a photo of the prolegs.

donhe wrote:

3 Jan 2021

The wasp grubs bite their way out of the caterpillar, damaging organs and skin. The caterpillar seldom survives. These are parasitoids, rather than parasites.

AlisonMilton wrote:

3 Jan 2021

Thanks. The caterpillar is still alive 13 days after the photo was taken.

donhe wrote:

4 Jan 2021

Terrific. Maybe, at 83, I might survive Covid if I get it.

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Sighting information

1 Abundance
21 Dec 2020 04:52 PM Recorded on
AlisonMilton Recorded by

Additional information

Eucalyptus Associated plant
50mm or larger Animal size
Larvae Breeding behaviour

Record quality

Images or audio
More than one media file
Confirmed by an expert moderator
Nearby sighting(s) of same species
GPS evidence of location
Description
Additional attributes