What on earth is this creature?

[motorollin]

Anyone know what this is? (1.5MB QuickTime file). I found it on my clothes and have no idea what it is!

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moto

[motorollin]

Really? I've never seen a caterpillar with legs only on each end of its body, and I had no idea caterpillars could "stand" like that. I'm keeping it in a jar with some leaves so we'll see what it develops in to :-D

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moto

[motorollin]

:lol:

I must have read that book hundreds of times as a child (and a couple as an adult...) and I couldn't even remember that caterpillars don't need legs in the middle if their bodies. Doesn't bode well for my degree, does it ;-)

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moto

[motorollin]

Heh, no for Speech and Language Therapy. Believe it or not human language can be traced back to caterpillars. The Very Hungry Caterpillar is actually on one of my reading lists.

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moto

[motorollin]

Ok this thing is still alive in its jar and has been stuck to a leaf for a while so I suppose it's getting ready to pupate. There are lots of little brown specks on the bottom of the jar. Do caterpillars poo?

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moto

[motorollin]

JaXanim wrote:
trekiej is correct. It's a moth catapillar commonly known as an inch worm.

Excellent, thanks trekiej and JaX!

JaXanim wrote:
Have you never heard the Hans Christian Andersen song:
"Inch worm, inch worm, measuring the marigold. etc."

Maybe, but it doesn't help my identify this particular creature ;-)

JaXanim wrote:
And yes, the bits in the jar are what you suspect. What goes into a catapillar, comes out. Just like you and me.

Interesting, I don't remember my vapourer moth caterpillar doing that. But then IIRC she pupated very soon so maybe she just wasn't hungry :-)

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moto