Hairy striped caterpillar on a picnic blanket by the Murrumbidgee River, Narrandera

Images and files

Record details

Basis of record

Human observation

Verbatim identification

Hairy caterpillar

Taxon rank

Order

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Lepidoptera

Scientific name

Lepidoptera

Name according to

Australian Faunal Directory

Nomenclatural code

ICZN (zoological)

Taxonomic status

Accepted

Name match type

Exact match

Checklist

Atlas of Living Australia name index (AFD)

Checklist version

ALA namematching API, checked 2026-11-03

Scientific name ID

https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/7cb6c81c-a7c4-4dd5-8578-fcfd2de847d6

Identification remarks

Soft segmented larva with true legs at the front and fleshy prolegs, head capsule, and tufts of long hairs: a moth caterpillar. The stripes and hair tufts suggest a tiger or tussock moth family (Erebidae), but that is not certain.

Identification confidence

Certain

Wild, cultivated or captive

Wild

Establishment means

Uncertain

Individual count

1

Life stage

Larva

Sex

Not applicable

Event date

2026-11-03

Sampling protocol

Seen and photographed close up with a phone (Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra), 12:13 AEDT. Not handled.

Occurrence remarks

One small hairy caterpillar, about 15–20 mm long, crawling across a picnic blanket on the river bank under river red gums. Cream and dark brown lengthwise stripes, long pale hairs from small warts along the body.

Uncertainty remarks

Identified only to order. Family and species not determined; the hairs could be irritating so it wasn't handled. Length estimated from the blanket weave, not measured. The blanket is not its natural substrate; it likely dropped from or crawled off nearby vegetation.

Occurrence status

Present

Behaviour

Crawling steadily across the blanket.

Data quality statement

Order from general caterpillar form. Name checked against the ALA name index (AFD). Coordinates from phone GPS; GPS removed from the published images.

Source

Rob's phone photos 20261103_121300–121304 (4 frames; 2 chosen)

Place

Not shown on public record pages

From the Biological occurrence profile, version 1.1.0, as signed for this record version. Not shown publicly: place, coordinate and site fields, fields the profile marks sensitive (such as observing times), and the names of observers, collectors and other credited people. In the title, captions and written descriptions, coordinates, street addresses, email addresses and phone numbers are replaced with a marker; other text, including any names or times written in it, is shown as the contributor wrote it.

Cite this record

Rob Evans (2026). Hairy striped caterpillar on a picnic blanket by the Murrumbidgee River, Narrandera. Clio Online Museum. https://cliomuseum.org/records/record-d7eaea86-1f7b-46f0-9965-8ff8c03c6077

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https://cliomuseum.org/records/record-d7eaea86-1f7b-46f0-9965-8ff8c03c6077

Published recordVersion 1

Creators

• Rob Evans https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6391-4464 (opens in a new tab) (verified with ORCID)

Version and provenance

Version identifier

version-16c37a1a-ab27-4a5d-9ea8-853638e80ddd

Canonical commitment

sha3-384:fb5db2c99252f55b5c19a0099c135783b8348f00ce9f7e6becb26a3096cef44d573d17e18ea6b6efcb260f76118227bd

Accepted

2026-11-03

Evidence profile and standards

• Darwin Core 2026-05-26