In the CHBH website, there are approximately 1,000 Lepidoptera species listed as occurring in ACT, all with photos of the adult moths, but of which only about 200 have had caterpillar photos published. So we need people who find caterpillars not in those 200 to rear them to the adult moth to identify their species, so that in due course we can create such a field guide. If you don't rear them, you don't get a field guide.
Most caterpillars that one finds wandering about, rather than hiding on their foodplant, are seeking somewhere nice to pupate, so you do not need to feed them. But if you find one on a plant, there is a good chance it feeds on that. Otherwise the basic caterpillar foods in Australia are: Gum leaves, Wattle leaves, Herbaceous plant leaves, Grass, and Lichen.
If an unknown caterpillar rejects all five, then rose petals and thinly sliced apple are good standbys. Apparently plants in Rosaceae have developed very few poisons.
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