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Lexington, Kentucky
Hello,
This photo was taken mid-September 2007 in Lexington, KY. Subject was eating New England asters in my garden. I looked through all 14 pages of your caterpillar information and will guess it is some type of Sphinx Caterpillar. At first I thought tobacco/tomato worm (it is KY) but there are no diagonal stripes, the multiple length-wise lines have me stumped. Thank you,
Barbee’

Hi Barbee,
When we first looked at your photo, we did not recognize the caterpillar, and we postponed responding until we had time to research. Then, we needed to research the scientific name of a Brown Hooded Owlet, and the thought hit us that other than the coloration, your caterpillar resembled that of the Brown Hooded Owlet Moth. Sure enough, there is a photo of a Goldenrod Hooded Owlet Moth Caterpillar, Cucullia asteroides, posted to BugGuide that is a dead ringer for your caterpillar. It feeds on goldenrod and asters, and the flowers in your photo are asters.

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