Caterpillar
Location: East Tennessee, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
May 24, 2011 8:24 pm
I found this oddball on my shirt after walking through some trees ( mostly ironwood, sweetgum, red maple, but there were other around) near a river in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in TN – about elevation 1500’. Sorry just one picture! I couldn’t find anything like it in David Wagner’s excellent Caterpillar field guide…
Signature: John D.
Horned Spanworm
Dear John,
Most caterpillars have five pairs of prolegs at the anterior end of the body and these prolegs assist in the caterpillar locomotion. Many caterpillars in the family Geometridae have only two pairs of prolegs, so their method of locomotion is unusual. They crawl forward on their true legs and then loop the rear portion of the body forward. Because of this manner of locomotion, they are commonly called Inchworms or Spanworms. The filaments on your specimen are very unusual and immediately indicate it is a member of the genus Nematocampa, most likely the Horned Spanworm, Nematocampa resistaria, which we identified on BugGuide. According to BugGuide: “Larvae feed on many hardwoods and several softwood species of shrubs and trees including pine, hemlock, fir, larch and spruce.”
1
¶ Posted 25 May 2011 § ‡ ° Unknown Caterpillar
Location: Sarasota, Florida. (South West Florida)
March 30, 2011 1:10 pm
I was looking through some of my books on caterpillars but couldn’t find this one and also looked on your site but also didn’t come across it and would like to know what it is! It’s a brown/grey color with red spots along the sides. Found it in my backyard. Wasn’t on a plant, but when you pick it up it goes straight like a stick. Found it on 3/30/2011; Afternoon; Currently Humid and windy.
Signature: Shelby
Inchworm
Hi Shelby,
Your caterpillar is in the family Geometridae, and it is commonly called an Inchworm, Spanworm or Measuringworm because of its unusual manner of locomotion. It crawls forward on its six true legs and the loops the rear portion of its body forward with its two pairs of prolegs. Inchworms are also called Loopers. Most caterpillars have five pairs of prolegs, but Inchworms have only two which necessitates this unusual manner of locomotion. We will try to identify your species if we have time by browsing the hundreds of possibilities on BugGuide. Interestingly, we decided in the past few days that the featured Bug of the Month for April 2011 is the Inchworm, so your identification request is quite timely.
¶ Posted 31 March 2011 § ‡ ° Looper
Location: Fairfield, California
March 28, 2011 7:09 pm
Hi,
Every spring and summer I find these in our garden and would love to know what type of insect it is. Most recent find was on 3-26-11 on a Japanese maple, but I have found them on Lantana and also just hanging out on on the fence. I never see any feeding damage on the plants the looper is on. Thanks!
Signature: Sharon
Inchworm
Dear Sharon,
At the moment, we are only going to be able to provide you with a very general Family identification, which you may already know. This is an Inchworm or Spanworm or Measuringworm in the family Geometridae, and browsing through BugGuide will reveal many similar looking caterpillars. Inchworms are also sometimes called Loopers, though not all Loopers are in the family Geometridae. The Inchworm gets its common name because of its manner of locomotion, which your photo beautifully illustrates. Most caterpillars have five pairs of prolegs, but Inchworms have only two pairs, which results in the caterpillar walking forward with the fore part of the body in a typical manner, and then looping the rear portion of the body to catch up, causing the larva to appear as though it is measuring distance as it moves. Your second photo demonstrates the marvelous camouflage ability these caterpillars have for mimicking small twigs. We are not certain what species of Inchworm you have submitted, but we suspect the species found on the Lantana might be different from the individual you found on the maple. Many Inchworms look very similar and they are difficult to distinguish from other members of the family. Since it is the end of March, it is time for us to select a Bug of the Month for April, and we love your photos so much, we have decided to give your Inchworm that honor. With the dormant trees beginning to produce tender leaves in many parts of the country, young caterpillars will start appearing as well to feed on those leaves. The vast majority of our caterpillar submissions occur in the fall when large fully developed Caterpillars leave their host plants to find places to pupate, but sharp eyed observers will be able to find Caterpillars in the spring as well.
Inchworm camouflaged as twig
Hi Daniel!
I am absolutely thrilled (can’t stop smiling) that you have chosen my submission as worthy for BOM! I am a “wannabe” entomologist, to the point that I lead the introduction to entomology for my county’s Master Gardener training class. I am a certified Master Gardener and photography is another of my hobbies. I hope to culture this inchworm through to its adult stage (to help in the identification). I have tried before, but my captive conditions do not seem suitable for success. Perhaps a larger terrarium with native soil will help.
And thank you for the lesson on inchworm definition (vs. caterpillar), I will share this information with my Master Gardener peers and trainees! Thank you, again!
Cheers!
Sharon Leos
Very abundant inch worm in Kasane, Botswana
Location: Kasane, Botswana
January 14, 2011 4:58 pm
I have seen this inch worm several times around my home in Kasane, Botswana. Right now it is the rainy season and is the only time I have seen this worm. It is very colorful and has almost feather like spikes. I did handle it and it was not poisonous. Do you know what this bug is or what it will become. It is very beautiful.
Signature: Laura Marchitto Massie
Unknown Caterpillar
Dear Laura,
We are not entirely convinced that this is an Inchworm, a name along with Spanworm given to the caterpillars of moths in the family Geometridae because of the way that they crawl. According to Bugguide: “larvae generally have only two pairs of prolegs (at the hind end) rather than the usual five pairs in most lepidoptera; the lack of prolegs in the middle of the body necessitates the peculiar method of locomtion, drawing the hind end up to the thoracic legs to form a loop, and then extending the body forward.“ The caterpillar in your photo has three pairs of prolegs, which is fewer than the five possessed by most caterpillars, hence its method of locomotion. BugGuide only indicates that “larvae generally have only two pairs of prolegs” which might mean that some individuals have three pairs. Your caterpillar also reminds us of that of the North American Funerary Dagger Moth which is depicted on BugGuide. We will attempt to get you a species identification, and until we determine otherwise, we will archive your letter with the Inchworms. Perhaps we can enlist assistance from our readership towards a conclusive identification of this interesting caterpillar.
Unknown Caterpillar
the hungry catapllers
Location: satellite beach, fl
August 8, 2010 8:42 am
i found these hungry catapillers. eating away at what left of bushes in my front yard. All I know they black and green with legs in front and back.
neal
Snowbush Spanworms
Hi Neal,
Though we were not familiar with this caterpillar, we quickly identified them as Snowbush Spanworms, Melanchroia chephise, the caterpillar of the White-Tipped Black, because the caterpillars appeared to have but two sets of prolegs at the hind end, indicating the family Geometridae. BugGuide provides this information: “larvae feed on plants in the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae) such as Breynia and Phyllanthus species.“ We are having a difficult time believing these caterpillars have defoliated your shrubs as depicted in your photographs. We suspect a rampant chain saw was the real culprit.
Snowbush Spanworm
¶ Posted 08 August 2010 § ‡ ° Horned Spanworm
April 18, 2010
Thanks for all the help you’ve given me! But here’s one I found myself that I’d like to share: a horned spanworm (OK, I’m pretty sure that’s what it is). I found it lurking on a maple seedling, and from what I’ve read, was probably responsible for the chew marks on several of the maple leaves (primary habitat is deciduous and coniferous trees). It is interesting to note that between the first picture and the latter pictures, the ‘tentacles’ continued extending (must be camera shy). I found the textured orange patch on his upper back very interesting; I saw it on few of the other photos I viewed. Also, it was very reluctant to uncurl.
Enjoy!
Karen H.
Belleview, FL
Horned Spanworm
Hi Karen,
Thank you so much for submitting your images of a Horned Spanworm, Nematocampa resistaria.
Horned Spanworm
¶ Posted 19 April 2010 § ‡ ° Very, very tiny black caterpillar with white spots
February 8, 2010
‘Ello Bugman!
Today I found a very, very tiny black caterpillar. He’s approx 3mm long and has tiny white spots which first I thought were stripes across his body.
I live in Australia in NSW and it is currently Summer (although has been wet and rainy for a week now).
I don’t know what the plant is. It self-seeded from somewhere and I don’t mind if he eats it all up.
It would be interesting however, to find out what he is, how big he will get and what he is to become.
Thanks!
Bronwyn
Penrith (Western Sydney, NSW Australia)
unknown Inchworm from Australia
Hi Bronwyn,
We can say for certain that this is a Spanworm or Inchworm caterpillar in the family Geometridae, but we would need additional time to determine the species. Since it is so small, it is an early instar, and it may undergo five additional molts before pupating. Each molt or instar may have different markings and coloration. Generally, most caterpillar photos are of the final instar, and it can be quite difficult to properly identify the earlier instars. Knowing the food plant often helps, but alas, we do not recognize your plant. As the caterpillar grows, molts and changes, you may send additional images in the hope that would assist in identification.
Host Plant
A compromised inchworm?
January 6, 2010
I found what I believe is an inchworm clinging to a blackberry leaf with her abdominal prolegs today, January 5.
The problem is, his/her head and thorax/legs are barely recognizable. The head area is almost split in two.
I found some skin on a leaf beside her. I wonder if a moulting process can look this horrible; either that, or could it be that the inchworm hasn’t fully developed? (The latter does not make sense to me, because I realize that insects typically hatch fully developed and simply grow/moult in the larval stage.)
This caterpillar was able to move just fine, as if otherwise healthy, but could only grab things with her prolegs… the head area is really looking bad!
Paul
Southwestern British Columbia, Canada
Blackberry Looper
Dear Paul,
We are not certain what species of Inchworm this is, and we haven’t the time to research it at the moment. It is difficult to tell from your photographs if there is anything unusual with the physiognomy. In the event there was trauma of some sort, a predator perhaps, we are uncertain how long a compromised caterpillar can continue to live. Perhaps one of our readers has the time to research the species.
Blackberry Looper
Update
Immediately after posting, we tried to do a websearch of geometridae and blackberry, and we believe this is a Blackberry Looper, Chlorochlamys chloroleucaria, as pictured on BugGuide. Though the coloration is different, the structure of the head is consistent with your photo.
Hello,
I did read the other emails, and I’m very glad for your answer!
I don’t know how to find it online.
Will need to visit your site more often!
Kind regards,
Paul
¶ Posted 06 January 2010 § ‡ ° 
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