(Not a bird, but a creature that birds no doubt encounter either on the ground or high up in a gum tree.)

Walking along a bush path the other day, I saw a strange-looking caterpillar. It was large and black with short yellow spikes. Its front end was quite pudgy, but its body tapered off toward the back end.

When moving along, it often lifted up its front end to show its yellow legs:

After doing a bit of research, I realized that this interesting creature is a larva, not a caterpillar. Specifically, it’s the larva of the Spitfire Sawfly. Sawflies are related to wasps, ants, and bees.

Despite the name “Spitfire”, these larvae don’t actually spit anything, but if you touch them you can get a burning sting from the spikes. The larvae also spew out a thick yellow liquid from their mouths when threatened, but the liquid isn’t harmful. They often collect together in big clusters on a gum tree.

Here’s a short video of the larva moving across the forest floor: