caterpillar or pupa or cocoon at Conder, ACT
Identification history
| Lepidoptera unclassified IMMATURE | 8 Feb 2025 | ibaird | ||
| Lepidoptera unclassified IMMATURE | 8 Feb 2025 | MichaelBedingfield | ||
| Unidentified | 3 Feb 2025 | Lorraine |
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User's notes
Possibly Gonodonta but very large~ 15cm
3 comments
donhe
wrote:
8 Feb 2025
Sadly no Gonodonta species are found in Australia. Are those true legs I see on the left ,? Was it stiff or was it squishy?
@Lorraine : please could you rinse the detritus off it so that we can see markings that may help identify the species?
.
@Lorraine : please could you rinse the detritus off it so that we can see markings that may help identify the species?
.
Lorraine
wrote:
8 Feb 2025
Reverse google gave me Gonodonta. I have no idea what it is!
I didn’t touch it too much although it was fairly robust. I collected it with a couple of sticks. It was on the hot footpath and when first touched it with my shoe it moved. However in hindsight I suspect it had somehow adhered to the hot path and my moving it made it relax. I’m pretty sure it was dead. I initially thought it might have been a baby snake some bird had dropped. Then it became even more of a mystery when a local Facebook group couldn’t identify it.
Grateful for suggestions of what to do or where to go next. I’m in Canberra
Could it be an import or unlikely passenger on produce?
Its texture was rather rubbery not unlike a squid tentacle type texture.
Certainly not soft bodied like you might expect from a caterpillar type creature
I tried swishing it in a jug of water that removed a bit of the detritus away
As for true legs I can’t be sure
It’s in my freezer at the moment
I didn’t touch it too much although it was fairly robust. I collected it with a couple of sticks. It was on the hot footpath and when first touched it with my shoe it moved. However in hindsight I suspect it had somehow adhered to the hot path and my moving it made it relax. I’m pretty sure it was dead. I initially thought it might have been a baby snake some bird had dropped. Then it became even more of a mystery when a local Facebook group couldn’t identify it.
Grateful for suggestions of what to do or where to go next. I’m in Canberra
Could it be an import or unlikely passenger on produce?
Its texture was rather rubbery not unlike a squid tentacle type texture.
Certainly not soft bodied like you might expect from a caterpillar type creature
I tried swishing it in a jug of water that removed a bit of the detritus away
As for true legs I can’t be sure
It’s in my freezer at the moment
donhe
wrote:
8 Feb 2025
The largest smooth Australian caterpillar is probably Phyllodes imperialis, the caterpillar of which has been reported to grow to 12 cms, and it has some striking markings which may survive in death, see
https://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/cato/imperialis.html
https://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/cato/imperialis.html
Location information
- Coordinates 149.093611-35.451514
- Places Conder, ACT
Sighting information
- 1 Abundance
- 29 Jan 2025 08:23 PM Recorded on
- Lorraine Recorded by
-
Collections
Lorraine NatureMapr Canberra & Southern Tablelands Other moths Moths (Lepidoptera) Insects
Additional information
- No found on footpath however covered in dry grass clippings Associated plant
- No interaction Associated Insect
- 50mm or larger Animal size
- Unknown Gender
- Deceased Animal health
Species information
- Lepidoptera unclassified IMMATURE Scientific name
- caterpillar or pupa or cocoon Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 1191m Recorded at altitude
- Machine learning
Record quality
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- GPS evidence of location
- Description
- Additional attributes
