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Gulf Fritillary Caterpillar

Northern California caterpillar
Location: San Francisco CA
December 7, 2011 11:08 pm
Found this in our garden in SF. Cannot figure it out! Even looked in bug guide.
Signature: Amy & Tony

gulf fritillary cat amy 300x207 Gulf Fritillary Caterpillar

Gulf Fritillary Caterpillar

Dear Amy & Tony,
We suspect that there is a passion flower vine nearby since this is a Gulf Fritillary Caterpillar and that is the food plant.

Thanks! You are correct! The vine in our garden is a passion flower!
Cool! I guess this butterfly has extended its range quite a bit as we live in NorCal not southern Cal.
Amy & Tony

The range of the Gulf Fritillary has expanded significantly with the cultivation of passion flower.

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Posted 08 December 2011 § brush footed butterfly caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Chrysalis of a Variegated Fritillary

Identification of shell
Location: Northeast Ohio
November 30, 2011 1:21 am
Greetings,
Any idea what butterfly or moth this shell belonged to?
Signature: Devon

variegated fritillary chrysalis 281x300 Chrysalis of a Variegated Fritillary

Variegated Fritillary Chrysalis

Hi Devon,
This is the Chrysalis of the Variegated Fritillary, Euptoieta claudia, and you can see a photo from BugGuide to verify our identification.  The adult is a wide ranging lovely orange butterfly.  The name “chrysalis” can be traced to the Greek word for “gold” and this lovely Chrysalis is an excellent example of the gold coloration that is found in so many butterfly pupae.

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Posted 30 November 2011 § brush footed butterfly caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °

The most beautiful caterpillar in the world from Kenya

Caterpillar found in Africa
Subject: Caterpillar found in Africa
Location: Kenya, Africa
November 29, 2011 9:24 pm
I am wondering what kind of butterfly this would turn into, and what the species of caterpillar is.
Signature: Lauren

caterpillar africa lauren 300x206 The most beautiful caterpillar in the world from Kenya

Beautiful Caterpillar from Kenya

Hi Lauren,
This is just about the most beautiful Caterpillar we have ever seen.  We don’t know what it is but the head reminds us of a Skipper Caterpillar.  Most Skipper Caterpillars we have seen have green bodies, though coloration has very little to do with genera classification.  We actually prefer not to research this at the moment because we want to spend some time imagining what the butterfly (and we really believe this is a butterfly) would look like upon metamorphosis.

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Posted 30 November 2011 § Skipper Caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Anchor Stink Bug eats Monarch Caterpillar

What is this pink and black beetle?
Location: Down East Maine – field
November 17, 2011 9:20 am
I have tried to find out – but not 100% sure – closest I could find was a Calligraphic Beetle? But the shape of his back-end is more pointed than the rounded Calligraphic Beetles I found images of on the Bug Guide website, and the black markings don’t fully match up. This beetle was definitely pink too. I would love your help:) It definitely was taking this monarch caterpillar with it!
Signature: Caroline

anchor stink bug eats monarch caroline 264x300 Anchor Stink Bug eats Monarch Caterpillar

Anchor Stink Bug eats Monarch Caterpillar

Dear Caroline,
The predator in this Food Chain drama is an Anchor Stink Bug, Stiretrus anchorago, and we identified it on BugGuide which notes:  “Adults feed on the larvae of beetles, butterflies, and moths. Stiretrus anchorago is considered an economically beneficial insect, feeding on the larvae of the Mexican Bean Beetle, among other pest species.”  It seems late in the season for this to occur.  When was this photo taken?

anchor stink bug eats monarch caroline 2 140x300 Anchor Stink Bug eats Monarch Caterpillar

Anchor Stink Bug eats Monarch Caterpillar

The photo was taken August 8th.  And thank you soooo much for getting back to me.  Very exciting to know who that was in my backyard!
-Best, Caroline

 

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Posted 19 November 2011 § brush footed butterfly caterpillars § Stink Bugs and Shield Bugs ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Queen Caterpillar

Mutant Monarch Caterpillar?
Location: West Los Angeles
November 14, 2011 12:06 pm
Hi Bugman,
We’ve had dozens of Monarch caterpillars this year (best year in a long time). Their colors varied somewhat, but all had rings of colors the length of their bodies.
The caterpillar pictured was found on a milkweed plant, but wasn’t interested in eating. It also did not appear large enough to begin chrysalizing (is this a word?).
As you can see, it does not have rings, but spots, and an additional set of ”false” antennae near the middle of its body.
So is this a Monarch caterpillar or something else?
Thx, Jeff
Signature: Jeff Bremer

queen cat jeff 2 300x203 Queen Caterpillar

Queen Caterpillar

Hi Jeff,
This is noteworthy for Los Angeles.  What exciting photographs to post, especially since they are from Los Angeles.  There are several other Milkweed Butterflies in the Monarch genus Danaus, and this is another member of the royal family.  We believe this is the Queen Caterpillar, a species reported from California according to BugGuide.  Your individual is darker than the images posted to BugGuide.  Queens are darker than Monarchs.

queen cat jeff 300x255 Queen Caterpillar

Queen Caterpillar

  On a side note, we are formulating written responses to interview questions for a Russian magazine, F5.  One of the questions we have been struggling with is 15.  After having studied bugs for so long, have you learned anything important from them?  And the answer is:  “Yes I have.  I have learned that we are all individuals.  Just as no two people look alike, no two insects look exactly alike, but some are very similar.  I learned this after seeing a photograph of a Queen Caterpillar that was much darker than photos of Queen Caterpillars I found on legitimate websites like BugGuide.  I have learned that even if I have difficulty telling two insect species apart, insects have no trouble recognizing their own species.  Species are just close to one another on the evolutionary scale, and they differentiated due to global distribution.  When you cut off a gene pool, it differentiates from disparate groups and eventually it forms a race, that if they cease to intermingle, might evolve to a point where they can no longer reproduce together.”

queen cat jeff 3 300x190 Queen Caterpillar

Queen Caterpillar

Hi Daniel,
Thanks for your reply – I’m hoping to see a Queen butterfly as well and was wondering of there is a way to tell the chrysalis from that of a Monarch.  The pictures in BugGuide don’t show any distinguishing features.  Do you know of any?
Thx,  Jeff

Alas, we don’t know how to distinguish the two chrysalides.  We will copy Keith Wolfe to see if he has any insight.

Keith Wolfe Responds
Jeff, please see this rather crude comparison using Internet photos . . .
http://home.comcast.net/~bflyearlystages/Differentiating-US-Danaus-immatures.doc
. . . which was quickly put together many years ago for a student I was mentoring.
Enjoy the wonder!
Keith

Had a stroke of luck yesterday when I spotted a Queen caterpillar starting to chrysalize.  Now I just need to be there when she emerges.
Jeff

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Posted 15 November 2011 § brush footed butterfly caterpillars ‡ Comments (2) °

Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar

The coolest caterpillar ever at least in NJ
Location: Coastal Central NJ
November 12, 2011 9:55 pm
My daughter found this caterpillar in the road
Signature: Chris Miller

spicebush cat chris 300x206 Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar

Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar

Hi Chris,
This is the caterpillar of a Spicebush Swallowtail.  It is widely believed that the false eyes are a type of mimicry that helps to deter predators like birds that mistake this potentially bitesized morsel for an even larger predator like a snake.

Permission to reproduce photo requested
December 1, 2011 10:08 am
Dear Daniel Marlos,
I take the liberty of writing to you because I am about to publish, at Les Éditions de la Transparence, a completely revised version of my doctoral thesis dealing with contemporary painting and entitled L’Image peinte. Enjeux et perspectives de la peinture figurative des années 90 à nos jours, which received in 2009 the Thesis Prize of the University of Aix-Marseille I.
Therefore, I would like to know if you could give us your authorization to print the following reproduction of an image of caterpillar, belonging to the corpus of my aesthetic analysis:
Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar, Coastal Central NJ, Signature Chris Miller.
Thanks in advance for your attention. I am of course entirely at your disposal to answer any question you may have regarding this book, whose publication is programmed for March 2012; a copy will be put at your disposal.
Yours sincerely,
Jean-François Desserre.

Dear Jean-Francois Desserre,
Sorry for the delay, but we are just catching up on old emails.  Thanks for writing and requesting permission to use this photo, however, the copyright does belong to Chris Miller.  We believe we have found his email address and we will copy him to see if he will grant permission.  Normally in situations like this, we request that a comment be posted directly to the original posting so that the photographer can comment.  Good luck with the publication of your thesis.

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Posted 13 November 2011 § swallowtail caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °

Androgeus Swallowtail and Caterpillar from Puerto Rico

about a caterpilar
Location: Puerto Rico
November 12, 2011 8:58 am
hey! I’m trying to find whats the name of the bugs I’m sending please replay as soon as possible
Signature: Jenny

papilio androgeus cat puerto rico jenny 300x186 Androgeus Swallowtail and Caterpillar from Puerto Rico

Androgeus Swallowtail Caterpillar

Hi Jenny,
Both your caterpillar and adult have a strong resemblance to the Giant Swallowtail, however, there are subtle differences that caused us to doubt that as the correct identification.  Here is a photo of a Giant Swallowtail Caterpillar from our archives and a photo of an adult Giant Swallowtail from our archives.  Our continued research brought us to the Adven Tours of Puerto Rico website and their butterfly list that included five swallowtails from Puerto Rico including the Androgeus Swallowtail that seemed to be a good match.  The Butterflies of Americawebsite pictures this sexually dimorphic species that indicates your adult is a male.  The Butterflies and Moths of North America website only pictures the female, but this information is included to support the larval food plant since your photos appear to be citrus leaves:  “Caterpillar Hosts: Leaves of trees in citrus (Rutaceae) family orange (Citrus sinensis) and Zanthoxylum elephantiasis.” 

papilio androgeus puerto rico jenny 300x206 Androgeus Swallowtail and Caterpillar from Puerto Rico

Male Papilio androgeus emerges from Chrysalis

Finally, we located this nice image of a stamp from Cuba picturing this lovely butterfly.

stamp cuba papilio androgeus 300x252 Androgeus Swallowtail and Caterpillar from Puerto Rico

Androgeus Swallowtail on a Cuban Stamp

Question from Keith Wolfe
November 13, 2011
Daniel, would it be possible to ask Jenny if she’s 100% sure that the splendid emerged butterfly resulted from the pictured brown and white caterpillar?  Thank you very much!
Best wishes,
Keith

Keith Wolfe writes back
November 17, 2011
Hi Daniel,
Despite your follow-up email to Jenny going unanswered, I’m nevertheless convinced that your identification of her caterpillar as an Androgeus Swallowtail (Papilio androgeus) is correct.  Good work, Bugman!  Although I recognize the larva, to include being familiar with several other look-alikes in its species group, I wanted to double-check with a scholarly list of Puerto Rican butterflies, such as this somewhat dated report — http://academic.uprm.edu/publications/cjs/VOL17/P059-068.PDF (tourism websites are not necessarily a reliable source of scientific information).  FYI on another young Androgeus Swallowtail from Ecuador — http://c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000Lx7jqbezL_M/s/1000.
Cheers,
Keith

Thanks for the vote of confidence Keith.  Your insightful contributions are always most welcomed.

hey! I’m sorry it took me so long to replay, but no the caterpillar is a totally different from the butterfly!
Jenny

 

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Posted 12 November 2011 § swallowtail caterpillars § swallowtails ‡ Comments (0) °

Monarch Butterfly Caterpillars

Caterpillars
Location: Charelston sc
November 10, 2011 9:22 pm
My friend, an elementary school teacher in Charleston, SC, took these photos on November 10.
Signature: The non-entomolgocial biologst, Alex Hartman (University of South Carolina)

monarch cats alex 300x203 Monarch Butterfly Caterpillars

Monarch Caterpillars

Dear Alex,
The plant in the photo appears to be an exotic milkweed, and they are usually promoted as butterfly plants.  The caterpillars in the photo are Monarch Caterpillars and they will metamorphose into Monarch Butterflies.  The caterpillars of Monarchs feed on milkweed.

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Posted 11 November 2011 § brush footed butterfly caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °

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