Critters in the Gardens
Chora sp
Entomological oddity
The Cattana Wetlands nocturnal adventure, organised as a part of the Friends of the Botanic Gardens events, was a successful night with about 35 participants looking everywhere for animals and plants large and small. In the large category a 2m crocodile was spotted in one of the ponds. A Tube-nosed Bat was observed and photographed along with a number of frogs, lizards, spiders and insects. A light-sheet was set up at one of the picnic areas and people milled about taking photos and observing arrivals at the sheets. Not far from the light sheet, Chora (pictured above) was found on a leaf. At first glance it appears to be a snail, shell and neck outstretched. But look carefully. You can easily see legs! Of course, a snail would not have ‘legs’. And, the snail motif further confuses because where you think the head is, it is actually the tail! The pair of protuberances near the end of the caterpillar actually look like the eyestalks of a snail. The head is under the bubble (which actually emerges from the thorax) to the left. So what is going on here? Is it just an allusion that we think we can see a snail on the leaf? Or would this be an adaptation to deceive a predator that might otherwise prey on a caterpillar? And what Lymantriid caterpillar
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Epacra
DR DAVID RENTZ AM
about creatures that might want to dine on a snail? Or is the balloon serving some other purpose? Who knows? All conjecture but some careful observation may unravel the mystery. Chora is a member of the moth family Nolidae. Moths in this family were previously placed in the large family Noctuidae (cutworms and fruit moths) but as is the tendency these days, they were split off and given a family all their own. Now the Nolidae includes three subfamilies with about 170 species in Australia. Once you learn what the moths look like, you can distinguish nolids from most noctuids. Have a look at Buck Richardson’s site: http://www.leapfrogoz. com.au/moths-of-tropical-queensland-australia/ moth-identification/nolidae.html to see the range of forms in the Nolidae. We are a bit uncertain as to the species that Chora represents. One would have to rear the caterpillar to maturity and then attempt to identify the resultant moth. If folks who attended the night and have photos of interest they would like to share, they can send them to me for potential inclusion in the Cattana Wetlands Album featuring hightlights of the night https://www.flickr.com/photos/naturenoises/ Tube-nosed Bat
