What’s In My Garden?
The Processionary Caterpillars of the Bag-shelter Moth
One of the casualties of the recent extreme rain events in my garden was an acacia tree which could no longer stand upright in the sodden ground.
When we went to check the fallen tree, we noticed a strange looking sac at the base of the trunk. It was like a bag made from spider web and filled with small round balls and other organic matter.
Then we saw a number of very hairy caterpillars crawling away from the ‘bag’. They looked like caterpillars we had seen before in Tewantin National Park following each other like train carriages.
Curiosity got the better of me and I headed inside to do some research. Apparently, the sac was a silk nest made by the Bag-shelter Moth which lays hundreds of eggs and covers them with scales. When the caterpillars hatch and start feeding on the tree, the bag becomes filled with their droppings, skins and hairs.
Eventually, when fully grown, the aptly named ‘processionary caterpillars’ leave the nest and follow each other head to toe looking for other suitable food trees or shrubs.
You may have seen these caterpillar processions. If you do, refrain from touching these little critters and definitely don’t let children or animals pick them up. Their needle-like hairs penetrate the skin, are extremely irritating and cause a severe allergic reaction. Even contact with the adult moth’s scales can cause an itchy rash.
For further information about this interesting species check the following links.
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/208621-Ochrogaster-lunifer
Vanessa Presling
