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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Pipevine Swallowtail Caterpillar

Can you please identify this caterpillar (with picture)
Howdy,
I live in Suwannee County, FL and found this little critter out and about near the front porch this morning. My best guess is that it’s a Gulf Fritillary Caterpillar, however I am most often mistaken as opposed to correct with these assumptions. Would you mind helping me properly identify this caterpillar? As a note, when my dog tried to sniff at it, two spots on it’s head around the vicinity of it’s eyes bulged out big round bright orange spots about the size of two small drops of water. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the caterpillar to do it’s performance for the camera. Also, I tried looking up this caterpillar in your archives, but many of the pictures wouldn’t load.
Thanks for your time,
Joe

Hi Joe,
What an awesome photo of a Pipevine Swallowtail Caterpillar. The orange horns that appeared are a defense mechanism known as the osmeterium that produce a scent found offensive by predators.

Posted 29 June 2006 § swallowtail caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °

Mourning Cloak Caterpillar

I know you are busy, take a look if you can
Hi guys, attached is a photo of a caterpillar I’m trying to ID. I posted it on bug guide too. I also am sending over some other photos I took and posted on bug guide and you can use them onb your site too if you want to. Today I learned on your site the things I was calling silverfish were actually house centipedes and they eat other bugs in the house. Cool. I also read they can produce a painful bite. Not cool. Generally speaking, I’m not a bug killer (we have a “backyard safari” bug vacuum) and all tresspassers are released. Since I’m a high school teacher I always make it a point to set an example when we have a bug intruder in our classroom and make sure it is tossed out the window. Is there a way to post pics to the site like bug guide or do people just mail them to you?

Dear Unknown Teacher,
Since we are control freaks about the aesthetics of our site, we do not allow visitors to post. Imagine what we might find? We do not want Jenna to appear on our homepage one day. This is a Mourning Cloak Caterpillar.

Posted 24 June 2006 § brush footed butterfly caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °

Tawny Emperor

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.

Posted 24 June 2006 § brush footed butterfly caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Mourning Cloak Caterpillar

Black caterpillar with barbed spines & red dots on its back
Dear BugMan,
Your site is FABUOLOS! I found this caterpillar in my backyard the other evening and took these pictures of it. I then proceeded to neglect my family because I spent a few hours browsing your site trying to identify it – I’m not a bug lover but I’m not a bug hater, either! Cool bugs are cool bugs and thank you for having so many bugs, cool & not so cool on your site! The closest I could find was the Pipevine Swallowtail Caterpillar. I do have a couple of Dutchmen’s Pipe vines so I was hopeful. Upon closer examination, it’s really only close, no cigar! The spines are barbed and I hope you can see from these pics that the spots are on the top of the body.. maybe I have a baby – still hopeful! The three caterpillars I’ve seen range in size from 1” to 1 1⁄2”. We live on Long Island, NY. I’ve seen 3 of these critters – never on any thing that they might eat – crawling across the patio, for example. Also not on or near my Dutchmen’s Pipe vines. The pictures I’m sending were taken of the caterpillar resting on a dead stick, also not near the Dutchmen’s pipe or near any other plants; the stick was on top of some rocks. Thank you for help with identifying this caterpillar and thank you for having such a fantastic website!
Patsy
L.I. NY

Hi Patsy,
This is a Mourning Cloak Caterpillar, which will become a beautiful dark butterfly with cream colored wing edges and blue spots. As the butterfly hibernates as an adult, it is often the first butterfly seen in the spring. The caterpillar feeds on the leaves of willow, elm and poplar.

Posted 20 June 2006 § brush footed butterfly caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °

Probably Thoas Swallowtail

Mexican Swallowtail – Giant Swallowtail or Thoas Swallowtail?
hi Bugman!
I wrote a few weeks ago after I found a caterpillar I could not identify. I gave it a habitat and let it do it’s thing. I came home to a beautiful swallowtail yesterday! I originially thought it was an ‘orange dog’ caterpillar — but it wasn’t quite the right colors.

Then I found a Mexican website (I live in Tucson Arizona) and was able to see it was some sort of swallowtail larva. I have attached a photo sequence of caterpillar, to chrysallis, to butterfly.

It’s happily fluttering about my yard now, but I think I got some good pics while it was in my care. This time I sent web-ready versions if you want to post them. I’m having trouble determining if it’s Giant Swallowtail or Thoas Swallowtail. See:
http://www.mariposasmexicanas.com/papilio_heraclides_cresphontes.htm
and http://www.mariposasmexicanas.com/papilio_heraclides_thoas_autocles.htm
I cannot really determine (even by Googling) if the lower wing red markings are classic of either species since my swallowtail has more red going up the lower wing. Either way, it seemed to be a mexican variety (sandy coloring) of the usual dark brown/white orange dog caterpillar. I love your site! You got me hooked and trying to identify this critter! Thanks!
Adrienne

Hi Adrienne,
Thanks for all the photos and research. According to BugGuide: The Giant Swallowtail is “Distinguished from P. thoas by the larger spots forming in the lower left leg of the X on the front wing. ” Your specimen has small spots on the forewings, so we favor Thoas Swallowtail. Here is just one more link with information.

Posted 30 May 2006 § swallowtail caterpillars § swallowtails ‡ Comments (0) °

Metamorphosis of the Hackberry Emperor

A complete Hackberry Emperor (Asterocampa celtis) collection
Dear Lisa Anne and Daniel,
Today I want to add some more beauty to your wonderful site. It feels prestiguous to be published on it. Here I am sending the picture collection of the Hackberry Emperor to you. It shows the main stages from when one can find them as young caterpillars in early spring until the butterfly is hatched. For those people who want to distinguish the young stages from the Tawny Emperor (A. clyton), one should pay attention to the almost black head of the very young caterpillars.

In later caterpillar instars, the horns of the hackberry Emperor (A. celtis) have much shorter spines. The older caterpillars have typical white stripes which are not in line with the head-tail body axis. These stripes will also be visible on the pupa and are white and clearly visible on the pupa.

The butterfly resembles to the Painted Lady, and care should be taken when identifying it. So, there are still a few pictures of the Tawny Emperor coming. It can’t take long until the photo model is close to hatch. Until then, have a nice weekend, and I will get back to you soon with the last batch of pictures for this spring.
Best regards,
Thomas
Madison/Wisconsin

Hi again Thomas,
We are so lucky to get each awesome batch of images you send our way. Your patience in unparalleled. Not only do you raise all these wonderful caterpillars, you get amazing photographs of all the stages. If we are nearing the end of the photos for this season, we can’t wait to see what next spring will bring. Have a great day.
Daniel and Lisa Anne

Posted 25 May 2006 § Brush Footed Butterflies § brush footed butterfly caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °

Red Spotted Purple Pupa and Butterfly: The Saga Continues!!

Red Spotted Purple – A Happy End
Dear Bugman,
The photo model hatched today, which provided us with a nice photo series: The Red Spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis astyanax). To end this story, I am sending a picture of the pharate pupa and the hatched butterfly (sitting next to its exuvie). I will give you a little break from my letters now, but I will return, because I am preparing a photo series of two very interesting and closely related species: Asterocampa celtis (Hackberry Emperor) and A. clyton (Tawny Emperor). I have already some gorgeous pictures of very small and bigger caterpillars of both species, but I will wait until I have photos of the pupae as well.
Best regards,
Thomas
Madison/Wisconsin

Hi Thomas,
Thank you for keeping us abreast of this fascinating saga. We eagerly await your next series. Have a wonderful day.
Daniel and Lisa Anne

Posted 13 May 2006 § Brush Footed Butterflies § brush footed butterfly caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °

another Red Spotted Purple Caterpillar or Viceroy, Who Knows???

Red-Spotted Purple Caterpillar?
I thoroughly enjoyed going through all 5 caterpillar pages. What an education! I thought maybe I’d found a rare caterpillar because I didn’t see anything resembling it until the last page. Whatever it is, it is one strange looking critter! Is my ID right? What does it turn into? This was in some sort of willow, I think, growing at the water’s edge on the dam of our pond in Powhatan, VA.
Thanks,
Linda

Hi Linda,
We admire your tenacity, looking through all five of our Caterpillar pages. Your identification is correct. This is a Red Spotted Purple Caterpillar. We have photos of the adult butterflies on our two butterfly pages.

Viceroy vs. Red-Spotted Purple
My extension agent said the caterpillar that I submitted (image included) is a Viceroy. I googled for Viceroy and I see that they are similar to the Purple. How do you tell the difference?
Thanks,
Linda

Hi Linda,
We don’t believe we can distinguish for certain between the two. We will see if Thomas from Madison has an opinion.

The Limenitis caterpillar problem (05/21/2006)
Dear Daniel and Lisa Anne,
Regarding your question about the published Limenitis caterpillar (Red Spotted Purple versus Viceroy) from May 12, I tend to think that it is a Viceroy, because of its long horns. However, the caterpillar of the Viceroy is extremely similar in shape to a subspecies of the Red Spotted Purple, namely Limenitis arthemis arizonensis. The fact that Viceroy caterpillars vary in their colour makes it very hard to distinguish these two from each other. (See the link below). I have been breeding butterflies and moths for 25 years now, but most of them are European species, and unfortunately I haven’t had Viceroy caterpillars or L.a. arizonensis in my hands yet. So I can’t tell for sure, what the exact species is on the photograph. The best thing to do in this case would be to breed the caterpillar until the butterfly hatches. http://www.mariposasmexicanas.com/limenitis_arthemis_arizonensis.htm
Best regards,
Thomas
Madison/Wisconsin

Posted 12 May 2006 § brush footed butterfly caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °

Red Spotted Purple Caterpillar becomes Pupa

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.

Posted 10 May 2006 § brush footed butterfly caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °

Question Mark Caterpillar

Question Mark Caterpillar
Hallo,
Here is a caterpillar I saw while backpacking in South Carolina. I think it is a question mark (?). Didn’t see any on your site, does this seem like the right ID?
Robert

Hi Robert,
This is probably a Question Mark Caterpillar, Polygonia interrogationis, but it could be a closely related species like the Comma. At any rate, the posture indicates it is getting ready to form a chrysalis. For the record, there are other Question Mark caterpillars on our five caterpillar pages.

Posted 09 May 2006 § brush footed butterfly caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °

Red Spotted Purple Caterpillars

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.

Posted 03 May 2006 § brush footed butterfly caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °

Morpho Caterpillar

Blue Morpho Caterpillar
Hi folks at Whatsthatbug!
I thought you might like this picture of a Blue Morpho caterpillar that I took at Butterfly World in South Florida. In the background, which is hard to see, is a crysalis of a Blue Morpho. Cheers!
Lori

Hi again Lori,
Thanks for sending in this photo of an exotic Morpho Caterpillar.

Posted 03 May 2006 § brush footed butterfly caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °

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