South Texas Caterpillars
Hi! Since you were so helpful the last time i found a great bug, here’s another for you: I found two of these little guys in my back yard under an oak tree. They were on plants close to the ground in close proximity to eachother. I put them in a “tank” i had for a betta fish with the plants they were on plus a few more to chow on. The plants were kept alive by pulling up the roots (easy to do in sandy soil) and placing them into a bulb vase with water. A wire/mesh screen was taped to the top of the “tank” to prevent escape. I found them on Wednesday and by Friday afternoon they were already starting to pupate. I am really excited to see what they turn into. I am in Magnolia, Texas (a bit north of Houston). Any chance you can tell me what kind of butterfly/moth to expect? Thanks!
Mary

Hi there Mary,
This is an American Lady Butterfly Caterpillar, Vanessa virginiensis, which we located on BugGuide. The Lady Butterflies, including the Painted Lady, are Brush-Footed Butterflies. The caterpillar feeds on Cudweeds and Everlastings.

These little guys…
Found these little guys climbing out of my Chinese elm tree, here in Southern California. I watched for over an hour as at least 15 climbed down, one by one. Can you tell me what kind they are, and what they feed on? Thanks.
Michelle

Hi Michelle,
This is a Mourning Cloak Butterfly Caterpillar. They were feeding on the leaves of your Chinese Elm and they left the tree to find a good place to pupate. Mourning Cloaks are lovely purplish black butterflies with cream colored wing edges and blue spots.

Wow! Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my e-mail. Our entire evening had been centered around these caterpillars. My children and I carefully collected them as they came out of the tree thinking we would watch then release them as butterflies. Since I wasn’t sure what they fed on and didn’t want them to starve, I placed them back at the base of the tree. I tried looking online several times to identify, but had no luck. I even woke in the middle of the night thinking of them….funny. Anyway, it was SO NICE to find your e-mail with the answer, and the kids (2 & 4) were amazed with the pictures and facts I was able to then find on the internet. Thank you for helping keep our interest “peaked”. All that right in our own back yard! So cool. Take care.

Trying to Identify Caterpillar found in my Ficus Hedge
Found these critters all over my ficus hedge in South Florida. The best description I can think of is that they look almost like rubber bugs. The skin is a shiny orange/brown color and the spiny things (sorry I do not know the technical term) are like thick individual strands of stubbly shiny black hair. They are pure entertainment for my 2 year old daughter. During a recent Tropical Storm I decided to try and save the little guys and bring them inside. To our delight we woke up the next day to see several of them have begun the next stage of their metamorphosis and have created bark-like cocoons suspended upside down from a branch of ficus. Can you help me identify what they are, and also is it best that I leave the cocoons inside until they hatch or should I now return them to the hedge. I do not want to disturb them any more than I already have. Please let me know. Also, what plants can I put in our garden to keep the butterflies around once the hatch?
Jodie Espendez
Pembroke Pines, Florida

Hi Jodie,
This looks like the caterpillar and chrysalis of the Gulf Fritillary, a pretty orange butterfly. The host plant is always listed as passion flower with on alternate. We can only guess that they were so hungry, the ficus seemed appealing, or, more likely, there is some passion vine growing in your ficus hedge. If you want Gulf Fritillaries, plant passiflora. In our yard, the butterflies also take nectar from lantana and cosmos.

unknown caterpillar – Junonia?
Thanks for your great website. A neighbor found six of these caterpillars on the sidewalk (Carlsbad, CA; July 30; we had some unusual rainy weather the previous night). Based on what we’ve found on the web, it appears like it might be in the Junonia genus. We’d welcome a positive id for this. Whenever we find caterpillars, we let our kids observe them and see if they form a chrysalis. We’d also like to know what to feed them. We tried basil and parsley, but they are not eating. Also, what kind of environment do they prefer for pupating? Thanks
Mike & Sue

Hi Mike and Sue,
This is a Morning Cloak Caterpillar. They feed on willow, poplar and elm and are also reported on Floss Silk Trees. If they were found on the sidewalk, they may have been wandering in search of a good place to pupate. The hanging pupa are often found on the sides of buildings. We have seen many adults this year near our Mt. Washington, Los Angeles office.

Tawny Emperor – the end of the saga
Hi Lisa Anne and Daniel,
After a longer break, I want to keep my promise and send the last pictures of the Tawny Emperor (Asterocampa clyton) to you. They were a bit difficult to take, because the pharate pupal stage always appeared early in the morning. The pupa is a female, while the butterfly on the pictures is a male.

I want to add a little story here: In the beginning of June I went at night with a flashlight into the forest nearby my house and checked on approximately 10 trees for Asterocampa caterpillars. I found nearly 200 caterpillars in total of both species (celtis and clyton), sitting and eating on the underside of hackberry leafes. It was just amazing how many they were. If you try to find the sister species (Apatura iris or Apatura ilia) in Europe, you can consider yourself lucky to find one caterpillar in a year. OK, have a great time, and I will keep you updated when I breed new exciting species.
Best wishes,
Thomas
Thomas Werner, PhD
Madison, WI

Hi again Thomas,
Thank you so much for completing the saga of the Tawny Emperor. We eagerly await next spring to see what new species you will send our way.