The Identification of Caterpillars of Australia

Don Herbison-Evans ( donherbisonevans@yahoo.com )
&
Stella Crossley

(updated 8 June 2010)

SPECIAL CATERPILLAR SPECIES Chelepteryx collesi huge: more than 10 cms long, Uraba lugens has a tall hat on its head, Plesanemma fucata has a spike on its head, Polyura sempronius has four spikes on its head, Euproctis melanosoma black and hairy, with 2 red knobs on the tail, Spodoptera litura smooth, dark brown, 4 yellow spots on thorax, Ochrogaster lunifer walks in precession, Coequosa triangularis green with 2 black knobs on its tail, Theretra oldenlandiae black, orange spots, wiggly tail spine, eats Balsam, Endoxyla leucomochla Wijuti (or Witchetty) Grub.     FAMILY IDENTIFICATION   Big red rump: Day-Flying Moths AGARISTINAE Everts stinging hairs when disturbed: Spitfires LIMACODIDAE. Carries a silk cocoon around, often with sticks or leaves glued to it: Bagmoths PSYCHIDAE Smooth with a pointed horn on the tail: Hawk moths SPHINGIDAE Smooth, hides by day, destroys lawns and crops at night: Cutworms and Armyworms NOCTUIDAE Hairy, especially with four tussocks on the back: LYMANTRIIDAE Just hairy: ARCTIIDAE ANTHELIDAE NOTODONTIDAE Smooth and walks in a looper fashion: GEOMETRIDAE CATOCALINAE PLUSIINAE Rears up and pokes a forked thing out of its head when disturbed: PAPILIONIDAE NOTODONTIDAE

Some Caterpillars are easy to identify because they have some unique characteristic, but most are rather similar to each other. Most taxonomy has been performed using the adult forms, so the only sure way to determine their species is to rear them through to the adult butterfly or moth, and then identify that. Some caterpillars can be identified to the individual species. Some can only be identified easily to the family. Some are not true Caterpillars at all. If you cannot get enough information from the rest of this page, please feel free to contact us, and tell us: country (not obvious from email!), state or province or area, length and diameter, colour and description, circumstances in which it was found, possible foodplants, and if at all possible: a photograph of it. Please note that we don't know much about non-Australian species. NON-CATERPILLARS Some insect larvae look like Caterpillars but are the larvae of insects from other orders. They differ from the larvae of Lepidoptera (true caterpillars) in only having six legs, and not sixteen (the six true legs plus an extra ten prolegs) which most Caterpillars have. Gum Saw Fly larvae, Bottlebrush Saw Fly larvae, 'C' grubs, Leaf Beetle Grubs, Yellow Lady Bird larvae, Cherry Slugs. Bardee Grubs. Mealy Bugs.