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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

The Knight: Caterpillar

Hi Daniel,
It’s me again…I came across this nasty looking caterpillar (see attached file) among the bushes & I think they belong to the species called “Lebadea Martha Parkeri” (The Knight). Just wondering if you can confirm this. Thanks once again for your valuable help. Cheers,
Eddie

Hi again Eddie,
Once you had provided us with all the information, our google search was easy, but one of the first sites we found had a suspiciously familiar looking image. Sure enough, it was your exact photo. Reading the content revealed it as your web site, Living the Simple Life. We continued to search for proof that your identification was correct, and found the The Caterpillar Gallery of the Butterfly Interest Group of Singapore which contains an image of the caterpillar of The Knight, Lebadea martha parkeri, and it looks like a match to your caterpillar, so we agree with your identification.

Posted 13 February 2008 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Common Evening Brown from Australia is Unknown Caterpillar from Who Knows Where????

Can you tell me what type of caterpillar this is?
Hello
My little boy found this great caterpillar. Do you know what type he is and what he likes to eat. Thankyou
Cathou

Hi Cathou,
We actually tried to identify your mystery caterpillar, but did not get very far since we have no idea where it was found. We believe it is a species of Skipper in the family Hesperidae.

Thankyou for trying. I am in QLD and think we have identified it as a Nymphalide / melanitis leda. I appreciate your reply Cheers
cathou

Thanks for the update Cathou. We will link to a site with information on the Common Evening Brown, Melanitis leda.

Posted 22 January 2008 § ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

American Lady Caterpillars and Chrysalis

Dear Bugman,
I’ve enclosed 2 photos of caterpillars. Are they the same or different? They were both on my licorice plant in my window boxes on my back deck this summer. Voracious eaters! (I had several) They have black ‘droppings’, and they spin a small web-like area in the leaves to hide out in. They munched dow big time, then after a few days, there were cocoons nearly the color of the leaves. I’ve enclosed a picture of one. I think they are American Painted Ladies, but not sure. Can you help? Thanks! I am in northcentral CT, btw.
Susan

Hi Susan,
You are correct. These are American Lady Caterpillars, Vanessa virginiensis. They are highly variable caterpillars, but the two white spots per segment are a distinctive marking. By the way, we are unsure of the exact species of the moth in your other email.

Posted 18 December 2007 § ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Monarch Caterpillar

What is this caterpiller?
Found on wild lantana in Ramrod Key, Florida
Beryn Harty

Hi Beryn,
It is a Monarch Caterpillar feeding on milkweed, not lantana.

Posted 12 December 2007 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Gulf Fritillary: Newly Emerged Butterfly and Caterpillar about to Pupate

Gulf Fritillary
I love Passion Vine, though I rarely get to enjoy the flowers. Instead, I have tons and tons of Gulf Fritillary butterflies, and encourage their growth by moving the caterpillars around my garden so they can all get a decent meal. I was thrilled to find this newly emerged butterfly in between the other two developing chrysalises, and wanted to share the picture with you.
Emma
DeLand FL

Hi Emma,
Thanks for sending us your photo of two stages in metamorphosis of the Gulf Fritillary, a newly emerged butterfly and a caterpillar about to pupate.

Posted 26 October 2007 § Brush Footed Butterflies ‡ Comments (0) °

A Medley of Caterpillars

For the love of Caterpillars
Dear Bugman:
Hope you had a great trip with the students. I know you all are super busy so since I last wrote you, I did some serious web searching and managed to identify my two ‘pillars that I sent in earlier this month (Hickory Tussock moth caterpillar and Yellow bear caterpillar–I think).

Hickory Tussock Moth Caterpillar Banded Tussock Moth Caterpillar

Since your site is so great and I use it so much, I thought I would give back a bit. Attached are all the photos I have taken of caterpillars near our home in Churchville, Virginia.

Buck Moth Caterpillar Io Moth Caterpillar

Hope you like them! (Higher resolution photos available if you want). Sincerely,
Lacey Parker

Monarch Caterpillar Banded Woollybear Caterpillar

Wow Lacey,
We really hit the jackpot with your awesome Caterpillar photos.

Posted 23 October 2007 § Silkworms § Tussock Moth Caterpillars § Woolly Bears ‡ Comments (0) °

Buckeye Metamorphosis

Our Caterpillar Turned into a Butterfly Today….or is it a Moth??
Hello,
I had written a few weeks back (see below), and hadn’t heard back from you…I completely understand why…no worries really :) But my four year old and I decided to “keep” the caterpillar. I was going to put him outside the next morning, but woke up to him in a cocoon! I figured he’d be fine if we kept him until he emerged. And today it happened! My daughter noticed the cocoon was empty and his short visit was over. Thought you might like a before and after shot :)
Brittany Clarke

(09/28/2007) Caterpillar Question
My four year old found this little guy in the grass. We live in the northwestern part of Virginia & was wondering what kind of caterpillar this is. After looking through your site, the closest I can guess is a Mourning Cloak or Brush Footed??? Your help is much appreciated!!!! :)
Brittany Clarke

Hi Brittany,
Thank you so much for your patience, both at our lack of response, and with the wait for your Common Buckeye caterpillar to metamorphose into the adult Common Buckeye butterfly.

Posted 10 October 2007 § Brush Footed Butterflies ‡ Comments (0) °

Monarch Butterfly Chrysalis

Cocoon?
My daughter found this hanging on our fence. The dots are gold. It’s beautiful. Any clue what’s inside? Thanks.
D. Fife

Hi D,
This is a Monarch Butterfly Chrysalis. It will turn tranparent and reveal the orange wings just before the butterfly emerges.

Posted 20 September 2007 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Buckeye Caterpillar

found another caterpillar
We are having a ball finding caterpillars in the flower garden and watching them transform. It’s been a great educational experience for all of us and my four year old is very fascinated at the entire process. She name them all “Leah”. Anyway, I again searched all 10 caterpillar pages and was unable to locate our newest find. Could you please help. Thanks
Mitzi

Hi Mitzi,
This catepillar is one of the Nymphalidae or Brush Footed Butterflies. We are nearly positive it is the Common Buckeye, Junonia coenia. According to BugGuide, the caterpillar host plants include: “Plants from the snapdragon family including snapdragon ( Antirrhinum ), toadflax ( Linaria ), and Gerardia ; the plantain family including plantains ( Plantago ); and the acanthus family including ruellia ( Ruellia nodiflora ). “

Posted 29 August 2007 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Gulf Fritillary Caterpillar

Gulf Fritallary?
Hooray!
I’m excited to have made my first bug discovery which I believe is a Gulf Fritallary. Saw the other postings on this caterpillar, but I’d love to find out some more about it to share with my kids (they were just as excited to discover it).
Armando, Los Angeles.

Hi Armando,
Once you have a name, it is remarkably easy to locate information on the internet. This Gulf Fritillary Caterpillar, Agraulis vanillae, feeds on passionflower vine and will metamorphose into a lovely orange butterfly with silver spots on the underwings.

Posted 28 August 2007 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Variegated Fritillary Caterpillar

is this a buckeye caterpillar?
Hi!
I’m trying to figure out if this is a buckeye caterpillar or not. Thanks for you time,
Carmen Kirby

Hi Carmen,
This is an exact match to a Variegated Fritillary Caterpillar posted on BugGuide.

Posted 24 August 2007 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Monarch Project: Caterpillar, Crysalids, and Butterfly

Monarch Project
Dear Bugman,
I thought I’d share with you this photo of my 6-year-old grandson’s butterfly project. The monarch emerged this morning from the first of 46 chrysalises (with more to come). Thanks for your great website!
Nancy Codere
Cumberland, ME

Hi Nancy,
We only wish your letter had included a more detailed description of what the Monarch Project is. We are guessing your grandson collected Monarch Caterpillars off of milkweed plants and kept them in a cage to observe the metamorphosis.

Dear Daniel,
I thought I’d share with you this photo of my 6-year-old grandson’s butterfly project. He collects the caterpillars from a stand of milkweed in back of our house and keeps them in a 10-gal. terrarium with screen cover. Everyday 3 to 4 fresh milkweed stalks are added as food. When the caterpillars are ready, most crawl to the cover to begin their metamorphosis (an occasional one will hang from a milkweed stalk and make his transformation there). When a chrysalis turns black (it’s actually clear but the unborn butterfly’s coloring shows through), we suspend the screen cover from a hook on the ceiling to observe the critter’s emergence. The monarch in this picture emerged this morning from the first of 46 chrysalises (with more to come). Thanks for your great website!
Nancy Codere
Cumberland, ME

Posted 18 August 2007 § Brush Footed Butterflies ‡ Comments (0) °

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