Red Spotted Purple update (caterpillar, pre-pupa, pupa)
Dear Bugman,
For a few days ago my Red Spotted Purple caterpillars had the honour to be on your website. Today I am sending some more pictures of the later development: the last instar caterpillar, the pre-pupa, and the pupa. Best regards, and keep making people happy with your website,
Thomas
Madison/Wisconsin

Hi Thomas,
Thanks for the update and awesome photos. Actually, your previous photos are still on our site, but in the interest of new additions, they needed to be romoved from the homepage. Their permanent home, for as long as we have a site, is on the fifth caterpillar page.

Young caterpillars and hibernaculum – Redspotted Purple
Dear Bugman,
Your site is really fantastic and I would like to make a contribution to your picture collection. So, what I have for you is a hibernaculum, a small caterpillar and a medium sized caterpillar of the Redspotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis astyanax). I found them on a bush of Wild Cerry on the 2:nd of May (yesterday)in Madison/Wisconsin close to Lake Mendota, all on the same twig. They are standing on my kitchen table now and I am planning to provide you with more pictures of their development. Last year I was breeding about 10 caterpillars from the same region, and all of them were Redspotted Purples, no White Admirals or mixed forms were between them. Thank you so much for providing such a wonderful site!
Best regards,
Thomas Werner, PhD
Laboratory of Molecular Biology
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Hi Thomas,
We are posting your two caterpillar images, but we are having trouble making out the Hibernaculum in the third photo, unless you are speaking about the plant bud.

(05/04/2006)
Hi Bugman,
I am very happy to see my pictures on your side. So, the hibernaculum is the dried little leaf. The caterpillars cut off the distal part of the leaf in autumn, leaving the central part intact and cover it with silk, so that it forms a tube. The hibernaculum is fastened to the twig with silk and doesn’t fall off during winter. I hope I could help you finding it on the picture. My medium sized caterpillar has just molted, so here comes an addition to the collection.
Best regards,
Thomas

Hi again Thomas,
Thanks for the clarification and the addition. You are such a proud father.

Caterpillar
I found your website while searching for a caterpillar ID, and just spent 2 hours enjoying all your wonderful photos and comments! I found this bird-dropping mimic on a weed in my garden which *might* be a wild cherry since I have a large one in my yard. I am not sure though because the plant is only 10 inches tall! Sadly the next day the caterpillar was gone. I live in Northern Virginia. I think it is a red-spotted purple, what do you think? Thanks for looking at my critter and for having such an awesome site!
Rebecca

Hi Rebecca,
The Red-Spotted Purple, Limenitis arthemis astyanax, and the White Admiral, Limenitis arthemis arthemis, are subspecies with different ranges that overlap. According to BugGuide: “White Admiral ( Limentis arthemis form arthemis ) – the northern form, basically black and white in the east, In the west specimens tend to have red spots on the hind wing and are called Western White Admirals ( Limentis arthemis form rubrofasciata ). In the SE USA and as far north as extreme southern Ontario this species is black and purple (no white band)and is called Red-Spotted Purple ( Limentis arthemis form astyanax ). As there 3 forms are regarded as being the same species, intergrades between them are quite common.” Since you have graciously provided us with a location, we can presume you do have the southern Red-Spotted Purple. Thank you for sending in a new caterpillar for our site.

What’s this bug?
Can’t find anything like this by searching online, perhaps you can help. It was feeding on what appeared to be a giant stinging nettle, secreting what I guess is nettle venom from its thorny spines. Length: approx 2 1/4″
Paul

Hi Paul,
We originally thought this might be the caterpillar of the Question Mark, Polygonia interrogationis. But, the following letter just arrived.

(04/10/2007) Caterpillar Identifications
Hello WTB,
Having reared and photographed several hundred species of butterflies (no time for moths) for the past 25+ years, I thought you’d appreciate knowing two IDs that I noticed while quickly scanning your caterpillar pages last night . . .
? Caterpillar (04/27/2006) — “Yellow coster”, Acraea issoria (Nymphalidae, Heliconiinae, Acraeini); larval foodplant: many Urticaceae, e.g., non-stinging Boehmeria and Debregeasia in Taiwan and India. See pix of caterpillars and chrysalis at < http://nc.kl.edu.tw/bbs/showthread.php?t=7943 > (accompanying text in Chinese). I hope this information is helpful and of some interest. Best wishes,
Keith Wolfe
Antioch, CA

Monarch Caterpillar?
I have a lot of monarch caterpillars with 4 “spikes”, two front and back. I also have a few caterpillars with an extra set of spikes on the body. Are these monarchs too?
Thanks!
Bill in South Texas

Hi Bill,
The caterpillar in your photo is another member in the “Royal” Milkweed Butterfly genus that includes the Monarch. Your caterpillar belongs to the Queen, Danaus gilippus. There is one subspecies in Florida and the Mexican subspecies known as the Mexican Queen, Danaus gilippus strigosus, ignores the international border and strays north into Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Unlike the Monarch, the Queen does not migrate.

hi bugman.. I came home to find the wall outside my backdoor in Southern Cal. covered with these beasties. They all seemed to be climbing up to my roof and appeared more rarely around other outside walls.
Do I need to call the exterminator? Or should I make peace with them? My dog hasn’t noticed them yet.
Regards
Andy Factor
Los Angeles, Ca.

Hi Andy,
This is a Mourning Cloak Caterpillar which will become a lovely brown butterfly with cream colored wing edges and blue spots. The caterpillars feed on elm, willow, poplar and occasionally the floss silk tree.