Wonderful World Wednesday - Spitfire sawfly (caterpillar)

 

While walking a few months ago Sophia and I found THIS!!! I was quite intrigued by it as it was one of the larger caterpillars that we have found. Then as we picked it off the footpath with a stick it started oozing this yucky green slimy stuff!! That was pretty gross but still interesting!!

 

It wasn't till I got home and we did the usual Google search that I found out EXACTLY what it was!!! A horrible Spitfire Sawfly!!! SHUDDER, it makes my skin crawl just thinking about it, believe me I'm not looking too closely to the pictures right now... I HATE these things!!!!
WHY?? do you ask??
Well when I was young we had a small gum tree in our back yard, right at the top of the path. It provided great shade for us as children and we would often sit under it in the Summer! I remember that every Summer there were these YUCKY black caterpillars crawling all over each other in a HUGE ball and (as it would happen) a couple of them fell........

 

 

 

NOW to make a REAL GOOD story I could say that it fell on ME but to be honest I don't really remember that. I just remember that they are gross, disgusting and totally not something I would normally stop and study to closely (due to memories!!!)

SO there you have it, check them out if you're not totally YUCKED by them - The Spitfire Sawfly!
Smiles The Torrents'

Wonderful World Wednesday - Caterpillars

While out with my daughter Hannah at Brady's Lookout, just down the Tamar River we found this funny little caterpillar! He was certainly very curious but also very clever!!

When I moved the rock he was on to get a closer look he totally FROZE! He did nothing, not one single movement AT ALL!! Hannah announced
"He's playing dead Mummy, look he's playing dead!" Sure enough he was as it took over 1minute for him to get started in moving again. We tried it once more and he did the exact same thing again! Sooo funny and sooo completely wonderful how this little guy deals with the world around him!

 

I've looked around the net and think that perhaps he is a Lymantrid Caterpillar which is actually the caterpillar for a moth! Interesting, what do you think??
Smiles The Torrents'