by Ann-Maree McEwan, Bushcare Volunteer

A caterpillar of a Perfect Tussock Moth, Calliteara pura was spotted at Gulguwa Bushcare (Dulhunty Street, Katoomba) on Saturday 13 June 2026, sunbaking on a bracken fern leaf.

The identification description (from the Coffs Harbour Butterfly House online information) describes this caterpillar as ‘brown or yellow, with a pale orange head, and is covered in long hairs, including 4 white tussocks, one on the back of each of the first four abdominal segments’.

According to the identification information, after the caterpillar pupates, the adult female moth is white with a pattern of broken thin lines on the forewings and white hindwings. Her wingspan is about 6cm. The male is similar, but with brown areas in the outer halves of the forewings and has orange hind wings with dark margins. The eggs are pale yellow and shaped like a doughnut.