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Wildlife Spotting

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Field Notes

Description:

Does it look like this caterpillar is hanging in the middle of nowhere? It is! One of the reasons to always wear a broad-rimmed hat in the rainforest. These trigger a painful itch. Help with ID appreciated!

Habitat:

Lamington Range National Park. Spotted near the Lower Ballanjui Falls. The park comprises Australia's largest remnant sub-tropical rainforest.

Notes:

Second picture was rotated for easier viewing.

Species ID Suggestions

Lappet Moth Caterpillar

Lasiocampidae
bayucca
1

Comments (10)
ShannaB
I reckon it might be!! Ours was dangling in mid-air too - Nath walked right into it and it got stuck to his shirt, so he brushed it off onto the stick.
DanielePralong
Thanks for your further thoughts Dominik. I'll outsource it to an Australian group I think and will try to attract Martin's attention to it. Definitely no Rufus rufus: not brown and boring enough! lol
bayucca
At a second look, the head reminds me of Epicoma sp., also a Notodontidae. Sometimes I think that these Notodontidae are just a "pot-of-excuse-ID" as they are so many different ones in this family... Could it be a Rufus rufus??
bayucca
I didn't show you my garage ;-)... as you know one is empty since I had to trash my Smart...
DanielePralong
Merci Dominik! Having see the pond I know it's worth something :-) Time to continue with my own research now I guess. I have always heard those referred to as "itchy grubs" but a lot of things are called itchy grubs in Australia. This is your standard itchy grub, a very different beast: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/10946337
bayucca
I would not bet my whole ranch on it, but the garage and the pond ;-)...
Photographed
PublishedMay 3, 2013

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Wilds of South-East Queensland
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2013 Best Wildlife Photo

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