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Category Archives: Cutworms and Owlet Caterpillars   rss

Black Arches Caterpillar

unusual caterpillar
Hi from Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands), British Columbia, Canada. I’m way out of my league on caterpillars and the local experts are stumped as well. Sure hope you can point me in the right direction. I just don’t want to disappoint members of the public who are interested in nature. Kind regards,
Berry Wijdeven
Species at Risk Recovery Coordinator
Ministry of Environment

unusual caterpillar
Hi Berry,
Here is the photo of the strange caterpillar which I found on a lavatera plant at our place. We have never seen one like it before, and it would be interesting to find out what kind of moth or butterfly it turns into. I just left it alone, and it disappeared—maybe we will spot an unusual butterfly in the spring. Regards,
Marlene Specht

black arches cat Black Arches Caterpillar

Hi Barry and Marlene,
Our only thought was this might be one of the Hooded Owlet Moth Caterpillars in the genus Cucullia, so we checked BugGuide. We followed a link to the genus Melanchra and found your caterpillar, known as the Black Arches, Melanchra assimilis. It is an Owlet Moth that feeds on a wide variety of plants, but it does not list Lavatera. The caterpillar is found in both green and brown forms, both with the bold yellow stripes and black outlines depicted in the photo you provided.

Posted 11 January 2007 § ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Correction: Curve-Lined Owlet Caterpillar

caterpillar
Sorry to keep bugging you. I really enjoy taking bug pictures. Here are some pictures of a caterpillar that I found today. What kind is it, please? Dallas, Georgia
Lee Hooker

prominent cat lee Correction: Curve Lined Owlet Caterpillarprominent cat lee 2 Correction: Curve Lined Owlet Caterpillar

Hi Lee,
You keep sending us great quality images of one interesting specimen after another. At first we thought this was one of the Prominent Moth Caterpillars in the family Notodontidae and then misidentified it as a Horned Spanworm, but Cameron set us straight by writing in: “Unless it’s another name for the species I think your Horned Spanworm is actually the Curve-Lined Owlet. It only eats Geenbrier. Cameron” The Curve Lined Owlet, Phyprosopus callitrichoides, can also be seen on BugGuide.

Posted 08 October 2006 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Hooded Owlet Moth Caterpillar

caterpillar
Hello,
I have looked at all your caterpillar pages on your wonderful and informative site and have yet to come across this one, which I found early in July munching away on daisy fleabane at our cottage near Peterborough, Ontario. Do you have any idea what it is? Thank your your time.
Sytske

cucullia speyeri cat Hooded Owlet Moth Caterpillar

Hi Sytske,
This is one of the Hooded Owlet Moth Caterpillars. The species is Cucullia speyeri which does feed on fleabane. We found a match on BugGuide.

Posted 26 July 2006 § ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Smeared Dagger Moth: Was Unidentified Willow Eating Caterpillar in Florida

Unidentified caterpillar
Hello. I’m so glad to have found your website, as my coworkers and I constantly come across critters while doing natural areas restoration work for the County here in South Florida. I recently came across this caterpillar feeding on willow in a freshwater wetland. Any ideas on its identity?
Jane Griffin Dozier
Environmental Resource Project Supervisor
Miami-Dade County Park & Recreation
Natural Areas Management
Miami, FL

willow cat florida unid Smeared Dagger Moth: Was Unidentified Willow Eating Caterpillar in Florida

Hi Jane,
We don’t recognize your caterpillar. While we continue to research what it might be, we will post your photo and perhaps someone will recognize it.

Update (04/25/2006)
Hi there. I thought I’d give you an update on this caterpillar. Thanks to a Naturalist here with the Parks Department, it has been positively identified as a smeared dagger moth (Acronicta oblinita). Thanks.
Jane

Posted 17 April 2006 § ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

The Laugher

My son found this caterpillar in the garden of our Northern Virginia home. Could you tell us what it is? We’ve tried looking it up with no luck.
thank you,
Melissa Thompson

laugher cat The Laugher

Hi Melissa,
This caterpillar is known as The Laugher, Charadra deridens. It feeds on the leaves of beeches, birches, elms, oaks, and other broadleaf trees.

Posted 04 February 2006 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Parnassus Butterfly Caterpillar or Hooded Owlet Moth Caterpillar???

Cucullia sp.
Hi
I have attached the larva of what I think is a Cucullia sp. I was able to find a reference on BugGuide.net but no specific species information. Thought you might be interested in adding this photo to your site. If you can tell me what species this is that would be great. I found the larva in my yard on a dandelion but it didn’t appear to be feeding… just traveling by. Thanks for your help.
Beth Hoar
Prince Edward Island, Canada

cucullia cat beth Parnassus Butterfly Caterpillar or Hooded Owlet Moth Caterpillar???

Hi Beth,
If we had to venture a guess, and it is a guess, we would say Cucullia intermedia.

Update: (05/15/2007) Parnassian ID
Hello, First I want to tell you how much I Love your site! I can’t believe I have never stumbled upon it before now. I just wanted to let you know that the Caterpillar listed on page 4 that is Identified as Hooded Owlet Moth Caterpillar or Cucullia intermedia might actually be a Parnassian. (Clodius Parnassian) to be specific. I had one myself a few years ago & can dig up some pics if you wish. It is a relation to the swallowtail family. Again, Great Site!! Keep up the amazing work!! Warmest Regards,
Misty

Hi Misty,
After looking at images of Parnassus caterpillars online, we believe you are correct with the genus at least.

Update:
December 18, 2008
Hi Daniel,
I have an image of its earlier instar as well if you are interested. It is one those interesting caterpillars as the late instar is completely different. I also was not able to get an ID until the last instar & it seems none exist on any site I can find at the moment. I also can not say Clodius for certain as the darned thing escaped just before pupating.. So no adult to compare.. I looked for it for months! I rear all caterpillars in the house so it could not have gotten far… Let me know if you would like the pics & size you prefer them sent. After I emailed you I viewed your site again. (Again, Great work!!) I see that you have updated the ID in question. I also noted that you were unsure as to the correct ID I provided & followed the link you posted. I just wanted you to know that “Apollo” is an alternate name for Clodius.. Here are a few links.
http://imnh.isu.edu/digitalatlas/bio/insects/butrfly/fampap/pacl.htm
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1344
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1346
This guy is a difficult ID & documentation on the life cycle is very sparse.
Misty

Hi again Misty,
We would love to get the early instar photos. Please send them with information on where you gathered them.

Update: Differing Opinion
Caterpillar Identifications
Thu, Dec 18, 2008 at 8:57 PM
The original ID of Cucullia intermedia (http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2006/01/20/probably-parnassus-butterfly-caterpillar-not- hooded-owlet-moth-caterpillar/ ) is probably correct, although moth caterpillars are not my area of expertise. In any case, these are not Parnassius larvae, which have fine black hairs (making them look somewhat velvety), all instars similar in appearance (black with rows of light spots), and feed on Sedum or Dicentra (not dill or parsley) locally. Please see this Parnassius smintheus from Idaho: http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1050616448038400999jjFBOj . North American Parnassian cats are rarely encountered, so a number of Internet photos are regrettably misidentified (such as http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1346 ).
I hope the above information is helpful.
Best wishes,
Keith Wolfe
aka “EarlyStages”

Posted 20 January 2006 § butterfly caterpillars ‡ Comments (1) °

Smeared Dagger Moth Caterpillar

Mystery caterpillar
Dear Bugman,
I’m hoping you can identify this caterpillar. We found it in our native plant nursery outside of Annapolis, MD and the closest picture I can find that looks like it is the Western Tussock Moth. Is there an eastern version, or is this one a vacationer here on the Chesapeake Bay? Or is this a totally different moth/butterfly? We have found many different caterpillars and have been able to figure out the parents of most of them, but this one has us stumped. (The farmer who leases the land to us is amazed that we are growing “weeds” but delighted by the butterflies.) Any help you give us would be greatly appreciated…we like to be able to tell children what the “bugs” are when they find them on the plants. The plant the caterpillar is sitting on is a Shining Sumac, Rhus copallina. Thanks….your website is amazing!
Ann

smeared dagger cat Smeared Dagger Moth Caterpillar

Hi Ann,
Thank you for getting back to us with the host plant, shining sumac. We were not going to give up until we identified your caterpillar because we love your letter. Long live the native weeds and thank you for sharing such a wonderful viewpoint with your children. We finally located your caterpillar on BugGuide. It is a Smeared Dagger Moth Caterpillar, Acronicta oblinita. Caterpillars of the Eastern Forests notes: “Pattern highly variable but always handsomely marked: generally dark, with dark or reddish dorsal warts bearing tuft of short bristly setae. Head black, shiny. Dorsum with or without abundant white speckling. Yellow, inverted V-shaped blotches separate white spiracles. Four fine setae extend out from others at either end of body. Food: many forbs, shrubs, and trees.”

Posted 26 December 2005 § Tussock Moths ‡ Comments (0) °

Brown Hooded Owlet Moth Caterpillar

3 great iPhotos
Greetings – These were unidentified until my brother spotted your brown hooded owlet moth caterpillar picture of one that I believe is similar. These were eating purple asters in our yard in Eldorado, NM, just outside Santa Fe late August, 2005. I thought these pictures were better than the ones you have, so here they are. Wouldn’t mind getting credit for the photos.
Your site is great, although it seems to be very slow to load certain screens on my dial-up connection.
Best regards,
Herkus Von Letkemann

brown hooded herkus Brown Hooded Owlet Moth Caterpillarbrown hooded herkus 2 Brown Hooded Owlet Moth Caterpillar

Hi Herkus,
Yes, this is a Brown Hooded Owlet Moth Caterpillar. We are posting it with your letter. Our site is currently experiencing technical difficulty which we hope to correct soon.

Posted 02 December 2005 § ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

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