Alice Springs Desert Park
ASDP Butterflies & MothsBanksia Moth – Caterpillar Calpinae (Caterpillar) Caper White Butterfly Chequered Swallowtail (Papilio demoleus ssp sthenelus) Day Flying Moth / Mistletoe Moth Heliotrope Moth (Utetheisa pulchelloides) Processionary Caterpillar Southern Moon Moth (Dasypodia selenophora)
This caterpillar is thought to belong to the Calpinae, a subfamily of the Erebidae.
Although it looks very similar to Noctuinae caterpillars, this specimen has been misidentified as Noctuinae, as the Noctuinae larvae do not loop
The caterpillar pictured here was found on the Acacia kempeana (Witchetty Bush). When first observed and being photographed, the caterpillar launched itself at us, missing us and landing on the ground.
As we continued to photograph it, you could see it moved like a “looper caterpillar”. We then tried to relocate it back onto the bush, and it spun a piece of web, hanging down.
- Scientific classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Class: Insecta
- Informal: Pterygotes
- Order: Lepidoptera
- Unranked: Ditrysia
- Superfamily: Noctuoidea
- Family: Erebidae
- Subfamily: Calpinae
Footnote & References
- Calpinae Boisduval, 1840, Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/Calpinae
- Tribe Catocalini, ausemade, iNaturalistAU, https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/observations/213298630
ASDP Butterflies & MothsBanksia Moth – Caterpillar Calpinae (Caterpillar) Caper White Butterfly Chequered Swallowtail (Papilio demoleus ssp sthenelus) Day Flying Moth / Mistletoe Moth Heliotrope Moth (Utetheisa pulchelloides) Processionary Caterpillar Southern Moon Moth (Dasypodia selenophora)
ASDP InsectsInsects Index Ants Bees Beetles Butterflies & Moths Diptera Gyromantis Hemiptera / Heteroptera Orthoptera Tropidoderus gracilifemur Wasps
ASDP FaunaASDP Arachnida ASDP Spiders ASDP Birds ASDP Insects ASDP Marsupials ASDP Mammals ASDP Reptiles Monotreme – Short-beaked Echidna
Alice Springs Desert ParkFauna Flora Nature Theatre Nocturnal House
