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Project Noah Nature School
Euploea core
This caterpillar has alternating bands of orange, black and white all along the body, and has eight black tentacles in pairs: on the mesothorax, the metathorax, and on abdominal segments two and eight. I spotted the caterpillars simply because the butterflies seemed to be attracted to this species of vine (photo #4). A previous spotting of the adult butterfly - http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/303...
Common in the Brisbane area, as it is throughout the rest of Australia. This one was found on a native vine.
Spotted on Jan 11, 2015
Submitted on Jan 14, 2015
14 Comments
And I was so happy to spot this one. I'd seen photos, but never in real life. They're beautiful.
A beautiful caterpillar....
Thanks, James. I've never seen one in Sydney, although I must admit I wasn't searching for them. They look pretty cool.
Good shot. I have two on my Oleander tree and two Chrysalis. Well that's what I can see.:-)
Yes, a very handsome fellow. The tentacles kind of remind me of a waxed moustache.
Wow what a beauty !
Thanks, Martin. I know the vine that these caterpillars like. I see it from time to time on my walks, so I'll keep an eye out for the crysalis. Cheers for the link. It looks so amazing.
Neil.
I saw similar caterpillar in cairns.
The next day it had pupated.
Yours is large and only days from pupating.
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/112...
I'll do my best :)
It's also known as the Oleander Butterfly, and when I was little I used to search constantly for the chrysalis on the underside of the Oleander leaves, stems and branches. I know it's an introduced plant and quite poisonous but finding the gems on the plant is a real treasure. Would love to see the photos when you find them!
Thanks KD. I know the vine to look for now. Plenty of the butterflies close to home at present, so I'll keep a watchful eye. I know the butterfly and caterpillar by sight, so the chrysalis is next.
Beautiful detail Neil. Looks like each black strand has been individually curled. Keep a lookout for the chrysalis they are magical.
I think so too, and it's only that I saw the butterflies in the same area that I knew where to start looking to ID the caterpillar. Must try to ID the vine.
beautiful caterpillar!