Caterpillar grouping
Location: Sioux Lookout, NW Ontario
August 1, 2011 1:29 pm
Hi! I’ve been seeing these caterpillars in groups each summer and wonder what they are….I’d like to show them to my preschool class but would like to know what they are first (since they will almost certainly ask!).
Thanks
Signature: Mike Lawrence
Found him through your site, many pages in…Red Humped Caterpillar….Thanks !
Mike
Red Humped Caterpillars
Hi Mike,
We are very happy to learn that you were able to self-identify your Red Humped Caterpillars, Schizura concinna, by browsing through our archives. As far are requests go, summer is the busiest time of year for us and many requests go unanswered. More information on the Red Humped Caterpillar is available on BugGuide.
Eggs? Galls? Magic space bubbles? A mystery!
Location: Toledo, OH
August 1, 2011 6:33 pm
Hey there! Oakworm (or so I think I remember) season is just starting around here, and most of the small oak trees at the park are ALREADY defoliated! Oy, it’ll be a bad year. Anyhow, I am curious if these are eggs coating the underside of the leaf or something else. It was very pretty, in a creepy sort of way.
Signature: Katy
Oakworms and Eggs
Hi Katy,
These Oakworms are the caterpillars of moths in the genus Anisota (see BugGuide). When they are really plentiful, Oakworms can defoliate trees. It is our theory that the eggs, yes they are eggs, in the photos are also Oakworm eggs, but alas, when they hatch, they will not have anything to eat. Thanks for sending us your great photographs.
Oakworms and Eggs
Hawkmoth Caterpillar
Location: Ithaca, NY
August 2, 2011 1:24 pm
Dear Bugman,
I’m not familiar with American species as I’m visiting from Europe. I went for a walk along the Lab of Ornithology’s lake, and while trying to find a robin nest I saw a couple of weeks ago, I discovered this large caterpillar. It was too far away for me to get closer, but according to the picture it has a dark backside. I do love identifying what I see, but I’m a bit overwhelmed with the multitude of species you have here.
Signature: a curious illustrator
Virginia Creeper Sphinx Caterpillar
Dear Curious Illustrator,
Though your caterpillar is partially obscured, we are confident that it is a Virginia Creeper Caterpillar in its brown form. Though green is a more common color, you can see by comparing your photo to this example on BugGuide, that we have identified your caterpillar. The best place to research New World Sphinx Moths and their caterpillars is the Sphingidae of the Americas website.
Panama Caterpillar ID
Location: Panama – Comarca Ngabe-Bugle area
August 2, 2011 9:50 pm
Hi. Was visitng niece in Panama recently and found this caterpillar in her house (thatched hut). She discovered it when she inadvertently brushed it with her hand and ended up with several hairy pines left behind. Beautiful caterpillar but is it poisonous?
Signature: Nancy
Automeris metzli Caterpillar
Hi Nancy,
We recognized your caterpillar as one of the stinging larvae in the genus Automeris, a group that includes the North American Io Moth, and we discovered on the private website, the World’s Largest Saturniidae Site, that is is Automeris metzli. We then found a matching photo on this unusual website. We advise folks to turn down the volume before clicking the link. The Bug Paradise gallery has images of the adult and caterpillar. Caterpillars in this genus have stinging spines and they should be handled with caution.
caterpillar
Location: NW Montana, USA, daytime sighting
August 1, 2011 5:16 pm
Hi there! Love your website, and browse it often. I take tons of photos, and love when they include insects of all kinds. Found this caterpillar…who unfortunately would NOT sit still…and as always, set about trying to identify it! Not having much luck, so hoped you could give me a hand! Many thanks!
Signature: veggietoo
Elegant Sheep Moth Caterpillar
Dear veggietoo,
This is the caterpillar of one of the Buck Moths in the genus Hemileuca, and in our opinion, it is the caterpillar of the Elegant Sheep Moth, Hemileuca eglanterina, which you may verify by comparing your individual to this image on BugGuide. The adult is a highly variable diurnal moth, and you may view a photo of a mating pair from our archives. According to BugGuide, it is: “Widely distributed in western North America: Rocky Mountains west to Pacific, from Southern California to southern Canada. In California found west of the crest of the Sierras, absent from San Joaquin Valley except for Sacramento Delta, found in southern California only in the mountains.”
caterpillars
Location: Macedonia Ohio
August 1, 2011 6:11 pm
Hi! Found your website and figured you might be able to help! We found what we think is a caterpillar, but I’m not sure. It was a very bright green color, almost neon and had a head that came out of its body, that almost looked like a beetles head! Also reminded me of a gummy worm cause of the consistency. We didn’t bother him much, just took him out of the driveway and put him on a tree. We would really like to know more about this pretty little thing! Ill try to attach a picture of him! Thank you very much!
Signature: Amanda
Polyphemus Moth Caterpillar
Hi Amanda,
We really love the way your Polyphemus Moth Caterpillar appears to be smiling for the camera.
Thank you so much!! And yes.. we joked about when he seen me there, he kinda lifted his head up to say hello! He’s awesome!
3
caterpillar
Location: Cheyenne, Wyoming
August 1, 2011 12:12 pm
Please identify. Many of these healthy looking critters are in our greenhouse munching away on the remaining tomatoes!
Signature: Beth
Tomato Hornworm
Hi Beth,
We only know of two Sphinx Caterpillars, commonly called Hornworms, that feed upon tomato, and they are both green, so we were very surprised to learn that the Tomato Hornworm, Manduca quinquemaculata, also has a dark form. Your individual is considerably darker than the example posted on the Sphingidae of the Americas website, the best place to identify Sphinx Moths in the family Sphingidae. We are going to copy the webmaster at Sphingidae of the Americas, Bill Oehlke, because he may be interested in posting your very dark Tomato Hornworm.
Bill Oehlke responds
Hi Daniel,
The dark form is actually quite common. There are a couple of links on quinquemaculatus file where sources have sent green and dark forms feeding in same location, some of them are very dark.
Thanks for thinking of me. The Laramie County sighting confirms/documents a suspected presence in that county.
Bill Oehlke
Hello Dan,
Thanks for doing the work! I am intrigued! We have not used any pesticide in the greenhouse and only had a limited amount of tomatoes.
Thanks for passing this on – my husband and I are teachers, Paul a middle grades science teacher and I teach second grade so this will start the year with interest for the kids.
With appreciation,
Beth Crips
gardening blog update: August 18, 2011
We allow Tomato Hornworms and Tobacco Hornworms to feed on our tomato plants. There are usually no more than two caterpillars per plant. We love the adult moths, though we have only seen one. The pupa we tried to raise in a terrarium emerged and its wings did not enlarge. It might benefit this species for the female to stay by the food source and attract the male.
3
Crazy Caterpillar
Location: Plant City, FL
August 1, 2011 8:49 am
Dear Bugman,
My cousin and I were out touring Dinosaur World when we saw this massive and ornately decorated caterpillar. We thought it was so exotic looking and were wondering what it was called and what kind of butterfly it will eventually turn into?
Signature: Trini & Amii
Hickory Horned Devil
Dear Trini and Amii,
This is a Hickory Horned Devil, and it will metamorphose into a Royal Walnut Moth.
2
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