emperor gum moth caterpillar

Description:

Small (5mm) newly hatched black hairy caterpillars with shiny heads, two orange spots near head and to white spots at the tail end spotted on one leaf. A neighbouring leaf showed a string of cream-coloured slightly flat eggs, some of which had an opening suggestive of recent hatching. The eggs appeared to be attached to each other by a mucilaginous material.

Habitat:

Eucalyptus leaves. Moth native to Australia

Notes:

These are early instar. Later instars of these caterpillars are enormous and beautifully coloured, very unlike the hairy little ones: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/870... The moth is from the Saturniidae family Interesting information about the gel that holds the eggs together and anchors them to the leaf: "Biochemical and electrophoretic screening of 29 adhesive secretions from Australian insects identified six types that appeared to consist largely of protein. Most were involved in terrestrial egg attachment...The strongest (1–2 MPa) was an egg attachment glue produced by saturniid gum moths of the genus Opodiphthera. " (Li 2008:85) "[W]e focused on the protein-based egg attachment glue produced by saturniid gum moths of the genusOpodiphthera. Stored as a treacle-like liquid in the accessory reproductive gland (colleterial gland) reservoirs of gravid females, the viscous fluid sets quickly to form a highly elastic hydrogel that binds newly laid eggs to the substratum and, in some circumstances, to each other. For the 7–10-day interval that normally separates the laying and hatching of eggs, the attachment glue must withstand environmental insults such as heat, wind and rain...The macroscopic properties of this material could make it an attractive target for biotechnological mimicry and subsequent commercial exploitation." (Li 2008:86) Source: http://www.asknature.org/strategy/6a7f97...