Bag-shelter Moth & Processionary Caterpillar

Alice Springs Fauna •

Alice Springs MothsAustralian Striped Hawk Moth (Hyles livornicoides) Bag-shelter Moth & Processionary Caterpillar Chasmina pulchra (White Beauty) Cossid Moth (Endoxyla leucomochla) Godart’s Hawkmoth (Agrius godarti) Helicoverpa punctigera (Australian Fruitworm) Laced Day-Moth (Ipanica cornigera) Leptocneria binotata Mocis alterna (Bean Looper Moth) Owlet Moth (Eudesmeola lawsoni) Sameodes cancellalis (Banded Pearl) Yeperenye / Yipirinya

Amazing to see the “Processionary Caterpillars”, or as they are commonly called “Itchy Grubs” and “fluffy ball of pain”. It is amazing to see their silken woven bag nest hanging in the tree (usually acacias and more rarely on eucalypts).

They are a social insect, that nest and feed together, then once they strip the tree of leaves, will leave the tree in search of more food, making the familiar sight of caterpillars following each other in a single line, as they search for another suitable shrub or tree.

The female Bag-shelter Moth lay their eggs on trees, usually acacias (wattles) and more rarely on eucalypts.

More information can be found:

Bag-shelter Moth (Ochrogaster lunifer) — Fauna > Insects > Moths
Processionary Caterpillar — Fauna > Insects > Moths
Processionary Caterpillar — Alice Springs Desert Park
Processionary Caterpillar — Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Class: Insecta
Subclass: Pterygota
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Noctuoidea
Family: Notodontidae
Subfamily: Thaumetopoeinae
Genus: Ochrogaster
Species: Ochrogaster lunifer

Alice Springs Butterflies & Moths (Lepidopterans)Alice Springs Butterflies Alice Springs Moths

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