This charismatically-coloured crawler is the caterpillar of the Fruit-Piercing Moth. They range from lighter colours like this one, to dark browns and blacks, but the intricate markings designed to ward off predators are shared by them all. In particular, the pair of ‘eyes’ on each side of the caterpillar has evolved to make it seem much larger and scarier than it actually is.

The Fruit-Piercing Moth that eventually develops out of this caterpillar is actually recognised as one of the world’s major fruit pests (although, it’s probably not fair to call them a pest when they’re just doing their usual thing – they pierce fruit, it’s literally in the name).

Found across most of the globe’s equatorial regions, they have a strong proboscis designed to make a meal out of tropical fruits, such as bananas, guavas and mangos.

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Fruit-Piercing Moth Caterpillar (Eudocima sp.), Kakadu National Park, Australia