This morning I performed my usual pee on the lemon tree in the backyard. As the bladder happily disgorged, I noticed a number of ferocious looking caterpillars munching away on the new leaves on the lemon tree.
There would have been at least 20, in different stages from 1cm long black tiddlers right up to the behemoths in the picture.
When I prodded one of the larger examples, it reared back and two pink prongs whipped out from above its head, forming long, slightly phallic horns. It then began to emit a nasty yellow substance from its mouth, which I imagine is irritating to the skin.
As you can see in the pictures, they are very grand looking caterpillars with a beautiful white underside and big spikes along their back. For our resident lepidopterists, what can I expect these beasts to pupate into?
And for the keen gardeners out there, are they likely to eat all my lemon tree folliage? Thanks RiotACT!
~Ozi.
[Ed- more photos on imageshack]
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