What on earth?
The little beast shown (sort of) in this post was discovered by Frances sitting on the rim of the container we use to collect compostables in the kitchen. Any suggestions as to what it is would be welcome! Denis Wilson has suggested a Case Moth larva and linked to a page about case-moths. This view was endorsed by Steve Holliday noting he had seen similar beasts in Melbourne. I have updated this post with bold red text to cover the points made by Denis.
I will note that I found the Wikipedia page on case moths unusually unhelpful! However googling the term did link to a Brisbane insects page with many photographs of case-moth larvae (which look to me very like non-acquatic caddis fly larva - thanks Ian Fraser for noting that resemblance from my pix)
It is towards the opposite end of the size spectrum from the goanna described by Denis Wilson. It was close to 20mm long and about 4mm wide. It was also docile in that it didn't appear to react when I put my finger near it. The hairy bit sticking out below the 'head' seems to be just a piece of vegetable matter collected on its travels through the compost bin.
My first thought was that it was a leech of some sort. This is based upon its general size and shape. I would however have expected a leech to head towards a heat source such as my pinkie. Has someone invented vegetarian leeches? Also the rough textured skin (actually the rough stuff is probably bits of vegetable material stuck to the outside of the case) was unlike any leech I have seen.
Due to its small size and my naff photo skills (and the fact that I am hurrying to get out the door as well as compose this) I was not able to get a good shot of its "head". This is the best:
After a wee while it fell off the rim of the bucket displaying the annular arrangement of its rear (?) - no, front - end. It seemed to extrude something like a second head (or possibly a prolapsed gut) through the ring. This is an even worse image which might get the idea across. As explained by Denis it is actually the one and only head: this was suggested by Frances, but my leech thinking led me to dismiss the idea: VERY UNWISE!
From the brisbaneinsects images it seems that the larva is actually living inside the case! Thus the last image is the only one which actually shows any of the insect!
I have also consulted a 'mothologist' to see if they could offer any Latin about the ID of the beast. Their reply said, in part,
I will note that I found the Wikipedia page on case moths unusually unhelpful! However googling the term did link to a Brisbane insects page with many photographs of case-moth larvae (which look to me very like non-acquatic caddis fly larva - thanks Ian Fraser for noting that resemblance from my pix)
It is towards the opposite end of the size spectrum from the goanna described by Denis Wilson. It was close to 20mm long and about 4mm wide. It was also docile in that it didn't appear to react when I put my finger near it. The hairy bit sticking out below the 'head' seems to be just a piece of vegetable matter collected on its travels through the compost bin.
My first thought was that it was a leech of some sort. This is based upon its general size and shape. I would however have expected a leech to head towards a heat source such as my pinkie. Has someone invented vegetarian leeches? Also the rough textured skin (actually the rough stuff is probably bits of vegetable material stuck to the outside of the case) was unlike any leech I have seen.
Due to its small size and my naff photo skills (and the fact that I am hurrying to get out the door as well as compose this) I was not able to get a good shot of its "head". This is the best:
In fact, with Denis's identification this is actually the rear end!
After a wee while it fell off the rim of the bucket displaying the annular arrangement of its rear (?) - no, front - end. It seemed to extrude something like a second head (or possibly a prolapsed gut) through the ring. This is an even worse image which might get the idea across. As explained by Denis it is actually the one and only head: this was suggested by Frances, but my leech thinking led me to dismiss the idea: VERY UNWISE!
From the brisbaneinsects images it seems that the larva is actually living inside the case! Thus the last image is the only one which actually shows any of the insect!
I have also consulted a 'mothologist' to see if they could offer any Latin about the ID of the beast. Their reply said, in part,
"Case moths or bag moths are the family Psychidae. ..... I don’t think I’d personally dare to try to make an identification of any larvae of Australian Psychidae without rearing it through to adulthood (which is a tricky process as psychids are notoriously subject to high levels of parasitism)."
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