Jwtk - what does this grub belong to?

[Jimbo]

Ok insect lovers, what on earth is this. Approx 100mm long?

Thanks
Jimbo

Sent from my MB525 using Tapatalk

[rharris]

Shit whatever you do don't touch it with bare skin .

[filbert]

Shit whatever you do don't touch it with bare skin .

the symptoms have usually shown up within 12 hours haven't they?

[rharris]

Not always ,best to wrap the area with glad wrap and honey .

[agrid]

I'm guessing a Hawk Moth caterpillar but not sure.

[Wrong: Hawk Moth larvae are usually hairless]

[Taz]

we used to call them elephant caterpillars that turn into elephant moths

[gunn parker]

Subed :-)

[killswitch54923]

A fury walking penis.....and you just touched it....

[agrid]

Has it got legs along the length of its body? It looks a bit like a velvet worm but the spikes aren't right.

Velvet Worms are soft-bodied worm-like animals, but unlike worms, they have paired legs along the length of the body and a pair of antennae on the head.

They are commonly about two to four centimetres in length. They move with a characteristic flowing movement caused by the alternation of fluid pressure in the limbs as they extend and retract along the body.

The other common name 'Peripatus' is also the genus name, and refers to this wandering movement.

They are carnivorous, ensnaring their prey with sticky slime squirted from pores on either side of the head, then biting pieces off the beetle, cricket, spider, wood louse or cockroach.

Their permeable skin renders them liable to drying out, so they are restricted to moist micro-habitats, such as the Wet Forests and Cool Temperate Rainforests.

Velvet Worms have remained remarkably unchanged over 300 million years, and are still found in southern land masses which were once part of the Gondwana supercontinent.

Since continental separation, their dependence on gradually contracting and fragmenting moist habitats has meant populations became separated. This has led to the evolution of a large number of species, many of which remain undescribed by science.

EDIT: Nah, I'm back to a hawk moth (Sphingidae) but can't find one that matches. I've sent one of your pics on to an expert.

What did it taste like?

[Phildo]

Not always ,best to wrap the area with glad wrap and honey .

And alfoil.

[Jimbo]

Shit whatever you do don't touch it with bare skin .

Fear not - it's my brother in laws hand, not mine

A couple of hours googling, and the closest I can find is some sort of hawk moth caterpillar but no images of the exact one. Geez, thought it was odd, but not necessarily rare - maybe I was wrong

[agrid]

Ok the expert says it is an Entometa species, perhaps fervens, Gum Snout Moth (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae) it has very variable caterpillar so it may well be a group of sibling species covered by this name.

Entometa fervens

[Jimbo]

Has it got legs along the length of its body? It looks a bit like a velvet worm but the spikes aren't right.

No to the legs along it's body - definately looks like some sort of caterpillar.

EDIT: Nah, I'm back to a hawk moth (Sphingidae) but can't find one that matches. I've sent one of you pics on to an expert.

Thanks - it got fished out of a swimming pool in greenmount if that's any help? (suburb, not the pool bit - I am assuming that is irrelevant as it wasn't packing scuba gear....)

What did it taste like?

Will let you know - we are just fattening it up so that we can share it around, bets are on chicken.

[Jimbo]

Ok the expert says it is an Entometa species, perhaps fervens, Gum Snout Moth (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae) it has very variable caterpillar so it may well be a group of sibling species covered by this name.

Thanks Agrid (and your expert) that looks pretty darn close. Tail isn't quite right, ours isn't doing the whole broken twig effect thing, but very close. Also ours seems bigger than the 7cm size mentioned in the article. Can get some better photos if that helps your expert out (further research, etc) ?

Cheers
Jim

[shan]

What did it taste like?

Tasts like bandicoot , there A bit like Platerpuss but more gamey like a Koala,