DaveO Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Oldfield, D. 2015. Doratifera quadriguttata Walker 1885 (Limacodidae) Four-spotted Cup Moth Larvae. Fauna photographed in visible and ultraviolet light. http://www.ultravioletphotography.com/content/index.php/topic/1205-doratifera-quadriguttata-four-spotted-cup-moth-larvae/ Maldon, Victoria, Australia26 January 2015Australian Moth Larvae CommentDoratifera quadriguttata is known as a cup moth from the shape of the cocoon of the pupa which is cup-shaped with a circular lid over the opening. The larvae possess hairs which can inflict a painful sting if touched. When the larvae are small they feed in a group and remove the surface of the leaf, later they feed individually and chew the edges of the leaf. The larvae are mostly found on Eucalyptus trees. Visible Light: Pentax K-5 Full Spectrum Modification, Nikon Rayfact PF10545 MF-UV 105 mm f/4.5 lens, Metz 15 MS-1 flash, 1/180 s @ f/11 ISO 200, Baader UV/IR Cut Filter.Image Reference: DO54151 Ultraviolet Light: Pentax K-5 Full Spectrum Modification, Nikon Rayfact PF10545 MF-UV 105 mm f/4.5 lens, Nissin Di866 Mark II flash, 1/180s @ f/11 ISO 200, Baader UV-Pass Filter.Image Reference: DO54153 References: McMaugh, J. What Garden Pest or Disease is that?, Lansdowne Press, 2009, p.47. Victorian Department of Primary Industry http://www.depi.vic....seases/cup-moth Atlas of Living Australia http://bie.ala.org.a...a+quadriguttata Published 27 January 2015 Link to comment
Damon Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 That's awesome Dave!All I can do here is take some UV of snow. Storm coming tonight--24+ inches in some areas. No heat in my UV shack either. :D -D Link to comment
colinbm Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Good find Dave....I hope you put it back with the cabbages again :D Damon, with those 6 Blak-Rays going, it must be like a sauna....Col Link to comment
DaveO Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 Does anyone know if the colouration of larvae is due to pigments or to structural colour in the same way that moth/butterfly wings show structural colours from the scales? Dave Link to comment
Andrea B. Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 The UV signature appears to correlate to the visible pigments. Dave, this is the craziest looking caterpillar I've seen in a long time. Quite an amazing fellow !! Thank you so much for capturing these fotos. Link to comment
nfoto Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Dave: don't think this is related to structure, as you see similar appearance at very different angles of incident light. Pigments are more likely the underlying cause. Link to comment
DaveO Posted January 29, 2015 Author Share Posted January 29, 2015 If the visible red isn't enough to warn off birds which are thinking of making a meal of this larvae then perhaps the bright UV signature along the pointy bits would do the trick. The UV-light green stripe along the mid-line of the back intrigues me as that isn't a very common false UV colour. Dave Link to comment
Andrea B. Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Well, false-green is not common in flowers. It could be that false-green isn't unusual in caterpillars. Or elsewhere. :D We really don't know. Seems like the UV-bright areas along this fellow's back would be somewhat of an advertisement to any other UV-capable creature, doesn't it? Looks like a well-lit landing strip. Dave, I hope you find more caterpillars as you prowl the mysterious UV world. Link to comment
DaveO Posted January 29, 2015 Author Share Posted January 29, 2015 Here are just a few references to bird UV visionBird UV vision refshttp://www.int-ornith-union.org/files/proceedings/durban/Symposium/S45/S45.4.htmhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8023459http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1219171/pdf/9461554.pdfhttp://www.vri.cz/docs/vetmed/54-8-351.pdf Dave Link to comment
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