Creeping, crawling, buzzing …

Hawk Moth caterpillar - photo Kay Granter

Some small critters have been brought to our attention recently, including this large caterpillar photographed at Strath Creek by Kay, whose daughter and dog seem to be equally curious. Our friendly and helpful moth expert Peter Marriott, author of the Moths of Victoria series of books, has identified the caterpillar as most likely that of a Hawk Moth, Psilogramma casuarinae. This species has only been discovered recently in the north of Victoria, too late to be included in Peter’s volume on Hawk Moths. The mature larvae can actually be either green or pink.

Black Spider Wasp - photo by Ron Litjens

We also received  from Ron at Flowerdale a photo of a Black Spider Wasp, Fabriogenia sp. Ron informs us that they are solitary wasps, and soon after mating the female looks for a single spider on which to lay her eggs, while the males die !! In this picture, the wasp has cut off the spider’s legs, so that it can fit into the nest.

Foliate Jumping Spider - photo by Laurie Macmillan

Perhaps Ron’s wasp wouldn’t bother with the tiny Foliate Jumping Spider, Clynotis severus shown below, which was photographed by Laurie near Strath Creek, very bravely managing to overcome her arachnophobia!