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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Unknown Cup Moth Caterpillar from Australia

An Australian Grub?
February 5, 2010
Hello Bugman, it’s funny, just as you identified my Palm Planthopper, I came across another mystery on my walk. It’s about half an inch in length, and looks a bit like a cross between a pillbug anf a colourful grub.
PS. I contacted Dr Fletcher from Orange Agricultural Institute about the Planthopper, and as a consequence he added my photo of it to their website:
“Lovely pictures of Magia subocellata (Family Lophopidae). This species (and one other species of Magia) is native to North Queensland. It was found a couple of years ago in the tropical palm collection at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney and may well have spread to your area from there.”
http://www1.dpi.nsw.gov.au/keys/fulgor/species/magiasub.html
Ridou Ridou
Sydney, Australia

Cup Moth Caterpillar

Hi again Ridou Ridou,
We didn’t do quite as well with this submission.  We are nearly certain this is a Caterpillar in the family Limacodidae, which in the U.S. are known as Slug Caterpillars.  Many of them have stinging spines.  The Brisbane Insect website, which has a few species posted, though none resemble your example, indicates they are called Cup Moths because of the shape of their cocoons, and the caterpillars that sting are known as Spitfires, our new favorite insect name.  Your individual is most probably not one of the stinging species.  We next searched the Australian Limacodidae page from an excellent Lepidoptera of Australia website, and again our search was to no avail.  That website states:  “In Australia, they are also called ‘Spitfires’, ‘Battleships’ or ‘Warships’” and additional names for these interesting caterpillars include Chinese Junks and Bondi Trams.

Cup Moth Caterpillar

Your view of the underside is nice because it shows the lack of prolegs, and the underdeveloped true legs which result in the sluglike locomotion of the caterpillars in this family. Alas, we are temporarily giving up on a species ID, and we hope a Family ID will do for the moment. Perhaps one of our readers will be able to assist with this identification.

Cup Moth Caterpillar

Posted 05 February 2010 § Stinging Slug Caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Sphinx Moth Caterpillar from Haiti: probably genus Erinnyis

catapillar found in Haiti
February 5, 2010
A friend of mine is working relief in Haiti right now. They came across this little caterpillar when he said all of the locals helping him jumped back after spotting it. He can’t speak the same language to find out why. But he wants to know if this is a harmful caterpillar at all.
Thanks for your time. Ryan Zwicker.
Haiti

Sphinx Caterpillar: Erinnyis species???

Hi Ryan,
If you can submit additional photos from different angles, it may facilitate a more exact identification.  This is most certainly the caterpillar of a Sphinx Moth in the family Sphingidae, and it is perfectly harmless.  Sphinx Moth Caterpillars are frequently called Hornworms because many species have a caudal horn.  We went to Bill Oehlke’s website, where we always go for Sphinx identifications, and we searched the species index for Haiti.  Though we could not find an exact match, the form and markings of this caterpillar most closely approximate species in the genus Erinnyis.  There is much variability in these caterpillars with regards to coloration, and many species have both brown and green forms as well as other variations.  Some possibilities from Bill Oehlke’s website are Erinnyis alope, Erinnyis crameri, and Erinnyis ello.  We will contact Bill Oehlke to see if he can be more conclusive.

Hi Daniel,
I just wanted to say thank you for the response. Seeing how my friend is doing relief work i’m not sure he will be able to provide any more pictures of one. He only had the one i know of. The information you provided was great, my wife and i spent quite a bit of time looking last night trying to figure it out, but we don’t have any knowledge of bugs in any form so we thought we’d ask people who do when we came across your website. Thanks again for the help. If anything else comes of it we’d love to know. If the little guy is harmless, we’re still not sure why the locals jumped back, other then it just being a bug. lol.
Thanks again, We really appreciate it.
Ryan.

Posted 05 February 2010 § Hornworms ‡ Comments (0) °

Stinging Slug Caterpillar from Malaysia

Stinging Slug Caterpillar from Bako
February 5, 2010
Hi Bugman, I saw this gorgeous critter on my trip to Bako National Park. Ploughed the net and some blog labelled it as Euclea delphinii. But when i did a google image search on it the actual spp looks pretty diff. what’s this???
Peiya
Sarawak, Malaysia

Stinging Slug Caterpillar

Hi Peiya,
The problem with blogs, including our own, is that there is much misinformation.  We agree that this is a Stinging Slug Caterpillar in the family Limacodidae, and we can tell you with certainty that you are correct that it is not the North American species Euclea delphinii.  It is also appears to be different from the Malaysian Parasa lepida or Blue Striped Nettle Grub we posted several months back.  This may take additional research.

Posted 05 February 2010 § Stinging Slug Caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Unknown Caterpillar Invasion in Thailand may be Silkworm

Invasion Phuket : The Next Wave – 26.01.10
January 26, 2010
Hi Daniel,
Greetings from Phuket once again and a belated Happy New Year for 2010.
I’m not sure if you remember, but I contacted you in December 2007 with regards to an infestation of Atticus Atlas (in the large and slightly scary larval stage) at one of the properties we manage.
Today we have another infestation at another property that we manage involving these hard to discern little chaps, please see the attachments.

Unidentified Caterpillars: Early Instar???

We would be most grateful for your identification skills so that we can establish if they are friend of foe. Needless to say – the Villa Owners are not too keen on them as their pools are becoming clogged with caterpillar droppings.

Caterpillar Droppings

Thanking you once again for your assistance.
With kind regards,
Mark.
Phuket Branch, Thailand

Unidentified Caterpillar

Hi Mark,
We fondly remember your Atlas Moth Caterpillar letter quite well.  This current request will take some research, and we may just post it as unidentified and turn our readership loose since we have two pressing letters to write this morning to local city councilmembers.  We would like to request some additional information, mainly, the species of tree that the caterpillars are feeding upon.  It looks like it might be some species of fig.  That would greatly assist in the identification process.  Also, in one image, there are a great number of Caterpillars.  Is that a grouping of smaller, younger individuals?  We cannot find a match on the caterpillar page of the Thai Bugs website.

Unidentified Caterpillar

Update from Karl
Hi Daniel and Mark:
The host tree looks like a fig, possibly Ficus retusa, and I am fairly certain the caterpillars are Bombycidae (Silkworm Moths). Beyond that it gets difficult but I think the most likely candidate genera are Trilocha or Ocinara, both of which feed on fig trees and are common in southeast Asia. These genera are very closely related and may even be synonymous, at least for some species. The thoracic swelling that is evident, particularly in the smaller individuals, is common among Bombycidae larvae. The smaller ones also appear to have a caudal horn, another common feature. I don’t see a horn in the other photos but the angles are wrong and, in any event, these horns typically get shorter or disappear as the larvae grow. The head region of the larger individuals looks similar to another related species, the Domestic Silkworm Moth (Bombyx mori), which does not occur in the wild.  If I had to guess I would go with either O. albicollis or T. varians, which may in fact be color variations of the same species, according to some sources. Reference photos of larvae are difficult to find and the adults would likely be easier to identify, so perhaps you could submit another photo when they emerge. Regards.
Karl

Dear Daniel,
Thanks for the information.
My team are currently trying to identify the tree in question. As soon as we get a handle on it we’ll let you know.
In terms of treatment, do you have any recommendations ? As you know, I’m loathe to terrorise them with a toxic, chemical bath. If we leave them alone, will they eventually go of their own volition ?
Thanks again for your superb help.
With kind regards,
Mark.

Hi Mark,
If this is the first year that they appeared, it is probably just a seasonal population explosion.  They will probably mature shortly and then their population will return to its normal numbers.  We would refrain from extreme chemical measures.

Hi again Daniel,
My on site team have given it their best guess as a Ficus benghalensis.
Please see the link below.
With kind regards,
Mark.

Cheers, Daniel.
Music to my ears.
Have a great day and all the best,
Mark.

Posted 26 January 2010 § Silkworms ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Fruit Piercing Moth and Cocoon from Israel: Green Drab Moth

a moth?
January 24, 2010
well i found 2 similar caterpillars about 2 months ago so i took them to my house oh and i took the leafs from the near trees and i err raised them until they became cocoons and well one cocoon went missing while the other one is still in its cocoon and one day there was a moth i think, that was on the cocoon so i wonder is this what came out of the missing one if so why was it on the other’s cocoon…
Victor R
west israel

Green Drab Moth

Hi Victor,
Your moth resembles a Fruit Piercing Moth, Eudocima materna, we have posted in the past.  It is definitely a different species, but we wonder if it is related.  We hope one of our readers can assist in this identification.

Cocoon: Fruit Piercing Moth

Hi Daniel and Victor:
This is indeed a fruit-piercing moth, probably Ophiusa tirhaca (Noctuidae: Catocalinae). I don’t know if it has a common name in Israel but elsewhere it is referred to as the Green Drab Moth. It has quit a wide distribution, including southern Europe, Africa and Asia, and it has been introduced to Australia. As the name of the group suggests, the adult moths feed by piercing various fruits, especially soft fruits. The larvae feed on the leaves of a variety of trees and shrubs and can be a pest on pistachio trees (including in Israel).   Regards.
Karl

Posted 24 January 2010 § Owlet Caterpillars § Owlet Moths ‡ Comments (2) ° Tagged:

Glover’s Silkmoth Caterpillar

Fat, Green Worm
January 23, 2010
We came across this while camping near Lehman Caves at the Great Basin National Park in eastern Nevada in the Summer of 2006.
Tyson Cramer
Great Basin National Park in Nevada

Glover's Silkmoth Caterpillar

Hi again Tyson,
This is a Giant Silkmoth Caterpillar in the genus Hyalophora.  The likeliest candidate in our opinion is Glover’s Silkmoth, Hyalophora columbia gloveri.  We are unable to link to BugGuide this morning, but we did locate an image on the Butterflies and Moths of Arizona website.

Posted 23 January 2010 § Silkworms ‡ Comments (0) °

Cutworm in the Snow is Winter Cutworm

January 18, 2010
Live caterpillars in the snow, New England.
Hi – I found about a dozen of these caterpillars – live caterpillars – on the top of the snow this morning.  It was a windy stormy night, temps in the high 20’s.  Most of the trees in this area are oak trees.   We are in Dover, MA, about 15 miles just southeast of Boston. Can you please tell me what kind of caterpillars these are?
Thanks,
Judy

Cutworm in the Snow

Hi Judy,
This looks like a Cutworm, a member of the subfamily Noctuinae.  Perhaps one of our readers will have more information on what species might be found in the snow.

Comment from Karl:
It’s probably a Winter Cutworm, the common name for the caterpillar of the Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba). It’s an immigrant species from Europe that has become a pest in much of eastern North America.  According to the book, Caterpillars of Eastern North America (David L. Wagner), “The caterpillars are active during thaws throughout the winter – commonly turning up on sidewalks, sauntering into garages, or crawling along banks of snow. If someone brings you a cutworm in the dead of winter – this is it.”  There are some good photos and information at: http://www.pestid.msu.edu/InsectsArthropods/NoctuaPronuba/tabi/73/Default.aspx

Posted 21 January 2010 § Owlet Caterpillars ‡ Comments (1) °

Baron Butterfly Caterpillar from India

Green feathery caterpillar
January 17, 2010
My father found this in his home garden. It’s feathery and looks really beautiful . Is it rare? We never seen anything like this at least.
SB
Bangalore, South India

Baron Caterpillar

Dear SB,
We are unable to provide you with a definitive species identification at the moment, but there is a striking similarity to your caterpillar and the Crowned Slug Caterpillar, Isa textula, from North America.  We can say with confidence that they are in the same family, the Stinging Slug Caterpillars in the family Limacodidae.  Handle with care as they can sting.

Correction thanks to Karl
January 18, 2009
Hi Daniel:
Well, I probably would have put money on this being a Limacodid caterpillar, but I could find nothing
that looked like a good candidate. I now think it is probably a Baron (sometimes Baronet) butterfly in
the genus Euthalia (Nymphalidae: Limenitidinae). One online list of Indian butterflies listed 53 species
in this genus so I don’t think we are likely to nail this one down. The caterpillar photos I did find all
looked very similar, for example the Common Baron (E. aconthea), which is found throughout India
(http://wapedia.mobi/en/Common_Baron). I couldn’t find any reference to a stinging threat, but I
would certainly avoid touching any caterpillar that looks this prickly.  It could all be about camouflage;
feathery spines to break up the outline and a mid-dorsal stripe to mimic the mid-vein of a leaf (check
out the link, above). Regards.
Karl

Posted 18 January 2010 § brush footed butterfly caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °

Unknown Aquarium Creature probably Aquatic Pyralid Moth Caterpillar

Insect larvae ? aquatic.
January 16, 2010
This “being” is attached to my aquarium glass wall. It flows with the movement of the water circulation with one end attached to the glass. It looks at first glance like a grub. A teeny grub. It is at most 1/4 inch. The attached end is a dark brown and the far end has a small dark area. The body is a light color and seems (accordion shaped) slightly extend-able like a caterpillar or grub. It is somewhat bristly…to catch food?
Could this be a crane fly larvae? I recently introduced some plants to the aquarium and they may have introduced this animal. It may remain an aquatic being and therefore would not technically be an insect. The water is mostly freshwater with the slightest amount of sea salt.I’m slowly introducing salt to a red claw crab that started life in a pet store’s fresh water tank.
It may not b a bug at all and would not be fall in “What’sThat Bug” jurisdiction.
swarner
Fredericksburg Va mostly freshwater aquarium

Unknown Aquarium Creature

addendum to ” Insect larvae aquatic
January 16, 2010
Further notes. BW pics are clearer to read. The unattached area of the “being” seems to periodically expand like a balloon. It is attached with a cord like piece near the bottom of the tank and has no air available.
I’ve become obsessed and am going blind looking through a magnifying glass. I do hope you can give it a name!
swarner
aquarium…

Unknown Aquarium Creature

Dear swarner,
We are very intrigued by your creature, though we aren’t certain at this point what it might be.  Creatures that appear in aquaria are a special curiosity for us.  Hopefully, time will provide an identification for this creature.  We strongly recommend that you attach a comment to this posting which will automatically provide a notification if someone else comments down the line.

Karl to the rescue!!!
Daniel:
I am inclined to think that this is the larvae of an aquatic moth, probably a snout moth in the family Pyralidae, which includes most or all lepidoptera with truly aquatic larvae. It is difficult to see much clear detail from either of the photos, but I think I can make out the reduced prolegs with crochets (hooks) in the black and white photo.  Compare this photo to close-ups of the crochets and the terminal abdominal segment of a pyralid larva provided on the ‘Digital Key to Aquatic Insects of North Dakota’ site. The larvae of aquatic Lepidoptera are almost always associated with aquatic plants and can be stem borers, leaf miners or leaf feeders. Regards.
Karl

Posted 17 January 2010 § aquarium § moth caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °

Hickory Tussock Moth

Banded Tussock Moth Caterpillar?
January 11, 2010
This caterpillar was found October 19, 2009 in area between pond and wetland woods. I think it is a banded tussock moth, but I am not sure and I would like to record it correctly.
Michelle
Western New York State-US

Hickory Tussock Moth Caterpillar

Hickory Tussock Moth Caterpillar

Hi Michelle,
There is much variability in the coloration of the caterpillar of the Banded Tussock Moth, Halysidota tessallaris, which may be viewed on BugGuide.  Our doubt, and probably your doubt as well, stems from the very black dorsal line evident on your specimen, which is lacking in most of the BugGuide images.  The description, according to the Caterpillars of the Eastern Forests website, is:  “Gray, dirty tan to yellow-brown with long paired white and black lashes on second and third thoracic segments. Those of second thoracic segment projecting forward beyond head. Eighth abdominal segment with third set of lashes. Dark medial dorsal tufts often forming dorsal line.”  We think a closer match is the Hickory Tussock Moth Caterpillar, Lophocampa caryae, which is also pictured on BugGuide.  Your caterpillar is one of the Arctiid Tussock Moths, and not a member of the Tussock Moth family Lymantriidae.

Hickory Tussock Moth Caterpillar

Hickory Tussock Moth Caterpillar

Posted 12 January 2010 § Tussock Moth Caterpillars § Woolly Bears ‡ Comments (0) °

Death’s Head Hawkmoth Caterpillar from Cyprus

Green Caterpillar
January 10, 2010
Please can you identify this caterpillar. It was found on a yellow jasmine in early January in North Cyprus. (The coin in the pictures is a Turkish 1 lira coin about the size of a two euro coin. many thanks
Geoff
North Cyprus

Death's Head Hawkmoth Caterpillar

Death's Head Hawkmoth Caterpillar

Hi Geoff,
This is the caterpillar of Acherontia atropos, the Death’s Head Hawkmoth that gets its common name from the pattern on the thorax of the adult moth.  That pattern resembles a skull, and the insect was used on the movie poster for the movie Silence of the Lambs.  Here is a link to a website with additional information.

Posted 10 January 2010 § Hornworms ‡ Comments (0) °

Blackberry Looper from Canada

A compromised inchworm?
January 6, 2010
I found what I believe is an inchworm clinging to a blackberry leaf with her abdominal prolegs today, January 5.
The problem is, his/her head and thorax/legs are barely recognizable. The head area is almost split in two.
I found some skin on a leaf beside her. I wonder if a moulting process can look this horrible; either that, or could it be that the inchworm hasn’t fully developed? (The latter does not make sense to me, because I realize that insects typically hatch fully developed and simply grow/moult in the larval stage.)
This caterpillar was able to move just fine, as if otherwise healthy, but could only grab things with her prolegs… the head area is really looking bad!
Paul
Southwestern British Columbia, Canada

Unknown Inchworm

Blackberry Looper

Dear Paul,
We are not certain what species of Inchworm this is, and we haven’t the time to research it at the moment.  It is difficult to tell from your photographs if there is anything unusual with the physiognomy.  In the event there was trauma of some sort, a predator perhaps, we are uncertain how long a compromised caterpillar can continue to live.  Perhaps one of our readers has the time to research the species.

Unknown Inchworm

Blackberry Looper

Update
Immediately after posting, we tried to do a websearch of geometridae and blackberry, and we believe this is a Blackberry Looper, Chlorochlamys chloroleucaria, as pictured on BugGuide.  Though the coloration is different, the structure of the head is consistent with your photo.

Hello,
I did read the other emails, and I’m very glad for your answer!
I don’t know how to find it online.
Will need to visit your site more often!
Kind regards,
Paul

Posted 06 January 2010 § Inchworms ‡ Comments (0) °

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