Buck Moth Caterpillar

bugman

May 27th, 2011 at 10:40 pm

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Do you know what this caterpillar is?
Location: San Diego, CA
May 27, 2011 12:31 pm
We found this caterpillar in San Diego CA at Mission Trails Regional Park on a willow tree. We can not figure out what it is. Can you help. Thanks.
Signature: D in SD

nymphalid cat willow san diego d 300x206 Buck Moth Caterpillar

What's That Nymphalid Caterpillar???

Dear D in SD,
The basic coloration and morphology of your caterpillar and its presence on Willow immediately suggested a Mourning Cloak, known as a Camberwell Beauty across the pond, however, no photos on BugGuide look like this. Mourning Cloak Caterpillars are black spiny creatures (DO NOT TOUCH) and they have 8 rows of orange red dots along the back. Your caterpillar appears to have 9 double rows of orange spines and its variegated pattern is beautiful. We really wish your lateral view was not so blurry. We suspect your caterpillar, whatever it might be, may irritate human skin if in contact with the spines. We did additional research and the Green Comma, Polygonia faunus, also feeds on “willows and birches and others” according to Jeffrey Glassberg’s book Butterflies through Binoculars The West. The photos we found online look even more drastically different than the Mourning Cloak Caterpillar photos posted to BugGuide. Could it be Chlosyne harrisii Harris’s Checkerspot, which we found on the Moth Photographers Group by scrolling down the page. What does Chlosyne harrisii eat? NOPE according to BugGuide, it ranges elsewhere. Here is the Butterflies and Moths of North America website page on the Green Comma.

Brush Footed Butterfly Caterpillar on Willow

Alas, our search has turned up nothing conclusive. We strongly believe that the key to a correct identification here is the presence on Willow.
P.S. NEW THOUGHT: Might it be a moth caterpillar like a Buck Moth?

Correction courtesy of Keith Wolfe
“D” and Daniel, this is a Hemileuca (Saturniidae) larva. These nymphalid look-alikes confused me, too, when I first started studying young butterflies.
Best wishes,
Keith

Hi Keith,
Funny, Buck Moths did cross my mind when I was researching this caterpillar.

Hi there. Thanks for looking into this for me. After looking Butterflies and Moths of N.A. I do think it is a Nevada Buckmoth.
I really appreciate the time you took to check it out.
D in SD

Bill Oehlke supplies a response
Daniel,
It is definitely Hemileuca nevadensis for first one
and for second one as well.
Bill Oehlke

I like This

Comments 4

ChristineR wrote:
Hi! I have to say that I have found the same caterpillars in the same location, and I’ve been doing some extensive research and while I agree that it is a Hemileuca I do not think it is a Nevada Buck Moth as from all the pictures I can find those they have a different coloration. Their skin appears distinctly speckled in appearance with some prominent striping on the sides. These San Diego Hemileuca have a much more yellow color as well as a more mottled appearance to their skin and not the distinct speckling seen in H. nevadensis, H. electra, or H. eglanterina that are said to be the only Hemileuca found in San Diego county. It is my understanding that Hemileuca are prone to pockets of specific population variance. I think we may have one of those small specific area population variances in this case, and that this sp. may be a local sub sp. of Hemileuca (Saturniidae). But we will see. I have brought 5 of them home and am feeding them fresh salix every day. I have posted photos of them on Bug Guide and as they mature I will continue to update those. http://bugguide.net/node/view/531599 Kind Regards, Christine – San Diego
Posted 19 Jun 2011 at 5:46 am ¶
bugman wrote:
Hi Christine,
Thanks for this update. We also hope you will supply What’s That Bug? with images of the adult Buck Moths when they emerge. We will also try to contact Bill Oehlke to see if he has anything to share or add to this.
Posted 19 Jun 2011 at 8:47 am ¶
bugman wrote:
Bill Oehlke supplies a response
Daniel,
It is definitely Hemileuca nevadensis for first one
and for second one as well.
Bill Oehlke
Posted 19 Jun 2011 at 6:52 pm ¶
ChristineR wrote:
Hi Daniel, I would be happy to add my photos. Thank you for looking at them Bill and posting. Kind Regards,
Christine
Posted 19 Jun 2011 at 11:52 pm ¶

Trackbacks & Pingbacks 1

From Buck Moth Caterpillar | What's That Bug? on 20 Jun 2011 at 9:45 am ¶
[...] Kind Regards, ChristineBuck Moth CaterpillarHi Christine, Thanks for your comments on our previous posting of this Buck Moth Caterpillar and also thank you for submitting your photos. Bill Oehlke has [...]

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