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Identification history
| Erebidae (family) | 2 Aug 2023 | donhe | ||
| Unidentified | 1 Aug 2023 | KMcCue |
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User's notes
It was on an old fence paling I was sawing up, tiny, same gray colour.
5 comments
donhe
wrote:
1 Aug 2023
A hairy looper. I think the loopers of Geometridae and Noctuidae are smooth, so this is probably from Erebidae. I do hope you can rear it to an adult moth to get a species ID.
donhe
wrote:
2 Aug 2023
Judging from where you found it, and the feeding habits of other Erebidae larvae like the Lithosiini, there is a fair chance it feeds on algae and lichens. Can you find some old twigs with stuff like that on them?
KMcCue
wrote:
2 Aug 2023
Given that info I might have been able to find some, it was in the wood pile, but now the larvae has gone. I'll have a look for another.
donhe
wrote:
2 Aug 2023
You should never leave a good caterpillar in the wild. It is a virtual death sentence. If a moth lays 200 eggs (many lay more) in a stable population, on average only 2 will survive to procreate. The caterpillar survival rate in the wild is about 1% .
Sighting information
- 1 Abundance
- 1 Aug 2023 04:15 PM Recorded on
- KMcCue Recorded by
Additional information
- 5mm to 12mm Animal size
- Larvae Breeding behaviour
- Alive / healthy Animal health
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
