Geometridae (family) IMMATURES at Melba, ACT

Unidentified IMMATURE Geometer moths at Melba, ACT

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Identification history

Geometridae (family) IMMATURES	1 Jan 2021	donhe
Geometridae (family) IMMATURES	1 Jan 2021	ibaird
Unidentified	1 Jan 2021	kasiaaus

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Author's notes

I put this caterpillar in a jar and I'm hoping it will turn into a moth. It fed well and has by now burried itself in the sand at the bottom of the jar and I'm waitig to see if anything else happens.

4 comments

donhe wrote:

1 Jan 2021

Excellent. Can you identify and record the foodplant ?

kasiaaus wrote:

11 Jan 2021

The plant is was eating was prostanthera rundifolia (I think).

donhe wrote:

11 Jan 2021

Perhaps the Australian Mint Bush : Prostanthera rotundifolia, Lamiaceae,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostanthera_rotundifolia
http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/plants/lami/lamiaceae.html
Do rubbed leaves smell minty?
Ian Common once said to me that caterpillars are excellent botanists, and to understand them, you too must become a botanist.

kasiaaus wrote:

11 Jan 2021

Yes, that sounds right :-) The leaves do smell minty.

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