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Project Noah Nature School
Opodiphthera helena
A large green caterpillar with fine white fur and a lateral cream line. There are several small protuberances tipped with blue and terminating in fine hairs.
Feeding on a eucalyptus sapling.
The helena moth is slightly larger and brighter than the emperor gum moth and the larva is less spiny. The helena moth is a rare find. I have also found some early instars but they seem to be O. eucalypti. http://www1.ala.org.au/gallery2/v/Saturn...
Spotted on Dec 2, 2012
Submitted on Dec 2, 2012
4 Comments
Thanks Mark. This was not much larger that the O. eucalypti you would expect to find. It certainly is not so common and the adults, which I have seen are more showy too. I found some eggs this week; probably O. eucalypti but I will watch them. They are scarce this year.
Missed it ! Very nice find Martin. Must have been fun to see. I read that these larvae are quite big.
Thanks Pam. This helena moth was an exciting find today and the second one that I have ever spotted! The first one was an adult moth. The adults are slightly different from the emperor gum moth and the two caterpillars are also slightly different. http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/165...
lovely spotting, Martin... Seems like many caterpillars that feed on Eucalyptus are awesome!