U-Turn - _TNY_6049
This geometrid moth caterpillar which decided to double back is a scarce umber (Agriopis aurantiaria).
Looking at the side of it, we can see that this one will end it's days prematurely as some sort of parasite has laid a cluster of green eggs directly on the caterpillar and when they hatch they will become the death of it.
For the scarce umber, this is obviously a horrific fate, but if you asked the tree whose leaves this caterpillar and its brethren devour at a rapid pace, I suspect we would get a somewhat different answer.
Another shot of the same caterpillar here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/50062268931/
And a portrait shot of it with an aphid on its face here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/50405456481/
U-Turn - _TNY_6049
This geometrid moth caterpillar which decided to double back is a scarce umber (Agriopis aurantiaria).
Looking at the side of it, we can see that this one will end it's days prematurely as some sort of parasite has laid a cluster of green eggs directly on the caterpillar and when they hatch they will become the death of it.
For the scarce umber, this is obviously a horrific fate, but if you asked the tree whose leaves this caterpillar and its brethren devour at a rapid pace, I suspect we would get a somewhat different answer.
Another shot of the same caterpillar here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/50062268931/
And a portrait shot of it with an aphid on its face here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/50405456481/