I found groups of this caterpillar (and four light lavender coloured eggs) hanging underneath several stones. The only plants nearby are a lillypilly (?) hedge and three vines, two of them periwinkle I think. I have never seen any of the caterpillars on any plant. (Please note that the light coloured patches on the stones appear to be old mortar, not lichen.) The ones in the photo appeared to coexist with a redback spider shown to the left. One caterpillar that I took in in June did not eat acacia, eucalypt, grass, lichen, rose leaves or apple slices - but this seemed quite unresponsive and has since died. I am now trying to rear a new one that looks healthier. I have added leaf litter, a stick, a small stone it was found sitting under and some vine leaves to it's jar, but it just climbed to the top to hang off the fabric covering. It has been sitting there for a few days now. I would appreciate if anyone could tell me what this caterpillar may eat. Could it be that it doesn't eat during winter?
I can see your private notes, but I'm a moderator - not sure whether that explains it or whether they are generally available. So little is known about many caterpillars its hard to advise. Mostly its a matter of experimentation anyway as to what will be eaten. Because a similar looking caterpillar has rejected food types before may not be a good reason to try wuth those foods again. Most caterillars will die in the wild anyway. I would not rule out lichen becouase these caterpillars look like Arctinidae family. Collecting rocks/ branches with lichen on them may be worth a try. My moderator colleague donhe may respond and be able to give better advice.
Thank you, that was very helpful, the comments should be visible now. Thank you ibaird for your suggestions. Yes, I think lichen and algae may be what they eat since they are on rock. I have a feeling these may be cave dwellers? I'll try lichen and see if it shows any interest.
Yes, those are probably caterpillars of one of the 215 named Australian species in the tribe Lithosiini, like http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/arct/lith-cats.html most of which feed on algae and lichens growing on old stones and timber, but as you can see: we only know what the caterpillars of 21 species look like. Yours looks like that of Tigrioides alterna, but some of the caterpillars of the other 194 species may also look like that. You will have to rear some to the adult moth to find their species.
Thanks for your comments donhe. I've collected a few more of these caterpillars, and housed them with stones, lichen branches, algae and moss. I'll see what they think of the offerings when they have settled down. Re more photos: I'll add pictures of the underside including the head in a moment.
Great additional photos. These show a partial yellow dorsal line which is very similar to that of the larvae of Leptocneria reducta http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/lyma/reducta.html although the head and leg colours are different. The larvae of L. reducta are communal and feed nocturnally, so they shelter in groups like yours, away from the food plant by day. Is there a White Cedar tree nearby?
This is so interesting! The caterpillar of Leptocneria reducta looks very much like the one here - it even has the two reddish-brown nodules at the end of the yellow dorsal line. There is a cedar tree about ten meters from where they shelter, but I don't think it's white cedar and it has plenty of foliage. I've put some leaves and branches in with the caterpillars just in case, and will post pictures of the tree separately, to see if someone can tell me what it is exactly. Another interesting thing is that I took a photo of an adult moth on our house wall (near the stone shelter) in late March, and this looks very similar to adult Leptocneria reducta. The colouring was different though, cream wings and two black spots on each forewing.
Ok, so the cream coloured moth appears to be Anthela ocellata, not the adult form of these caterpillars. Our cedar tree appears to be a US or European cypress (Cupressus sempervirens?; sighting 4503144). It looks then like these are white cedar moth caterpillars that have decided that cypress is good enough for their purposes. Thanks for the great detective work, I'm very happy to know what they are!
White Cedars are deciduous and have pinnate leaves, quite unlike a Cypress. I have known L. reducta larvae walk 50 metres or more seeking a nice crevice in which to form a cocoon and pupate, so their origin may be further from their rock than you thought.
Oh wow, that's a long way. I'm not sure they are walking anymore now - I watched some caterpillars outside and they hadn't moved 3h after dark yesterday. They are still there now. The ones inside are walking around their container - not sure what to do with them as I don't know where that white cedar tree is. Do you think it's better to just bring them back outside? We do know what they are now anyway.
I think caterpillars will wander around the container looking for somewhere to pupate. Eventually they pupate even though they have not found their ideal site.
Remember that if nature is in balance, then every pair of adults will produce only 2 viable adults in the next generation. Say if a female lays say 400 eggs (a typical number), of which, say, 200 hatch successfully into caterpillars, then on average 198 of these will die before reaching maturity to procreate. So the death rate of caterpillars in the wild is about 99%. Leaving your caterpillar in the wild is basically a death sentence.
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