Yass River, NSW
Identification history
| Geometridae (family) IMMATURE | 5 Apr 2026 | ibaird | ||
| Geometridae (family) IMMATURE | 5 Apr 2026 | SuziBond | ||
| Unverified | 19 Feb 2026 | JonLewis |
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User's notes
Caterpillar on Cherry Ballart carrying a big parasite load. What sort of parasites?
2 comments
ibaird
wrote:
5 Apr 2026
iNaturaliat's AI seems to be suggesting the parasites may be Euplectrus wasp larvae. see here:-
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/41228487
https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/53632ab4-5051-4c45-a1f5-42255938566f#overview
ALA: 'Euplectrus wasps (a cosmopolitan genus) have been found as parasitoids on the caterpillars of the families Erebidae, Euteliidae, Geometridae, Lasiocampidae, Noctuidae, Nolidae, Notodontidae, Sphingidae and Tortricidae. The larvae of all species of Euplectrus are greenish-yellow and are very obvious on the host caterpillar's cuticle to which they are very firmly attached. The parasitized caterpillars feed and remain active but stop growing and moulting."
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/41228487
https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/53632ab4-5051-4c45-a1f5-42255938566f#overview
ALA: 'Euplectrus wasps (a cosmopolitan genus) have been found as parasitoids on the caterpillars of the families Erebidae, Euteliidae, Geometridae, Lasiocampidae, Noctuidae, Nolidae, Notodontidae, Sphingidae and Tortricidae. The larvae of all species of Euplectrus are greenish-yellow and are very obvious on the host caterpillar's cuticle to which they are very firmly attached. The parasitized caterpillars feed and remain active but stop growing and moulting."
JonLewis
wrote:
8 Apr 2026
Hi Ian, thanks very much for the very interesting information about Euplectrus wasps. I would never have guessed! Cheers, Jon
Location information
- Coordinates 149.211058-34.975986
- Maps Gang Gang at Yass River
- Places Yass River, NSW
Sighting information
- 1 Abundance
- 19 Feb 2026 02:41 PM Recorded on
- JonLewis Recorded by
-
Collections
JonLewis NatureMapr Canberra & Southern Tablelands Geometridae (family) IMMATURE Geometer moths (Geometridae) Moths (Lepidoptera) Insects
Additional information
- Cherry ballart Associated plant
- Parasites carried on caterpillar Associated animal
- 5mm to 12mm Animal size
Species information
- Geometridae (family) IMMATURE Scientific name
- Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 1418.1m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information
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