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Stinging Caterpillar from Australia: Chinese Junk

Angry litte catapillar
Location: Nth Queensland Australia
February 21, 2011 5:06 am
Gday mate,
was out in the garden and brushed past a tree that this guy was living in. It took about 5 seconds before I felt like I was being branded with a hot iron ( or a million wasps – not sure)
anyway was real curious to find out what kind it was?
Signature: Doug from Downunder

chinese junk caterpillar australia doug 300x212 Stinging Caterpillar from Australia: Chinese Junk

Chinese Junk

Gday Doug,
You had an unfortunate encounter with a Stinging Slug Caterpillar in the family Limacodidae.  In Australia, the family is known as the Cup Moth family and the caterpillars, many of which can sting, are called Spitfires according to the Brisbane Insect website.  Your particular caterpillar is the Mottled Cup Moth, Doratifera vulnerans, and the caterpillar, according to the Brisbane Insect Website, is called a Chinese Junk:  “because of their shape and their way of moving like ship at sea.”

3

Posted 21 February 2011 § Stinging Slug Caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Lappet Moth from Thailand

Yellow moth
Location: Sri Racha, Chonburi, Thailand
February 12, 2011 10:28 pm
I recently collected some large, hairy yellow striped caterpillars for my grade 3 Science class. One of them has just emerged from its cocoon as a yellow moth about 3 centimeters in length. When I googled ”yellow moth”none of the images showed a moth quite like this one.
Signature: Alan Walmsley

lappet cat thailand1 268x300 Lappet Moth from Thailand

Possibly Lappet Moth Caterpillar

Hi Alan,
Both your caterpillar and the adult moth remind us of the North American Lappet Moths in the family Lasiocampidae, and even more specifically, those in the genus Phyllodesma.  Here is a comparison photo of a North American caterpillar from BugGuide, and here is an adult moth also from BugGuide.  Though the coloration is quite different, the manner in which the moth holds its underwings in relation to the upper wings is strikingly similar.  Again, this is just a guess, and we hope to be able to provide you with additional information on our own as well as through reader contributions.

lappet moth thailand alan1 268x300 Lappet Moth from Thailand

Lappet Moth

We immediately tried a search of the family in Thailand and found a Moths of Borneo website, and on Plate 6, and there is an image of a mounted specimen identified as a female Trabala ganesha that looks remarkably like your moth.  Here is a photo from the Foto Biodiversitas Indonesia website and an even better match are these images of Trabala vishnou from Thailand on this Taxonomy website: http://193.166.3.2/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/bombycoidea/lasiocampidae/trabala/index.html.

lappet moth thailand alan 21 300x194 Lappet Moth from Thailand

Lappet Moth

Posted 13 February 2011 § Lappet Moths § Tent Caterpillars and Kin ‡ Comments (0) °

Oleander Hawkmoth Caterpillar

ID of caterpillar
Location: Hawi, North Kohala, Hawaii Island
February 11, 2011 3:10 am
Can you help ID this caterpillar
Signature: Hawi

oleander hawkmoth cat hawi 300x157 Oleander Hawkmoth Caterpillar

Oleander Hawkmoth Caterpillar

Dear Hawi,
This is an Oleander Hawkmoth Caterpillar, a species introduced to Hawaii that has naturalized because of the cultivation of its food plant, the oleander.

Posted 11 February 2011 § Hornworms ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Hickory Horned Devil found in Bed!!!!

Horny Caterpillar?
Location: Ohio
February 10, 2011 8:13 am
This bug was found inside the house, under the bed covers! Friends are laughingly calling it the ”horny caterpillar” … can you enlighten us please?
Signature: photogirl800mm

hickory horned devil ohio 300x205 Hickory Horned Devil found in Bed!!!!

Hickory Horned Devil

Hi photogirl800mm,
Awesome.  This is a Hickory Horned Devil, the larva of the Royal Walnut Moth, and it is the largest Caterpillar in North America.  Your letter did not indicate if this was a recent discovery (which we doubt) or if it was found in bed last autumn.  We did not get as many submissions of Hickory Horned Devils this past season as we have in years past.

7

Posted 10 February 2011 § Hickory Horned Devil ‡ Comments (0) °

Unidentified Caterpillar

Interesting caterpillar
Location: Orange, California
February 7, 2011 3:15 am
I was outside today gardening and hanging out with my cats when I saw this caterpillar in the garden. At first I thought nothing of it because I rarely see caterpillars in my garden on grass growing between bricks and I didn’t think it was one because of the shape and where it was. (I’m not sure where it came from because we had been cutting, trimming and removing plants from our garden.) But I went back and to my surprise it had a fat head/neck. And on further inspection It was black with yellow stripes. And small little yellow spots. It kind of reminded me of an army worm but I don’t think it is because of the body/head shape and plus it was so small. I took it to my butterfly bush and hope to see if I can find it tomorrow.
Signature: Samantha

caterpillar samantha 300x240 Unidentified Caterpillar

Unknown Caterpillar

Hi Samantha,
We tried browsing through the Cutworms in the very large subfamily Noctuinae on BugGuide to no avail.  We are so amused by your photos that we are posting them in the hope that one of our readers may eventually supply us with a species identification.  Your Caterpillar makes an interesting fashion accessory.

caterpillar samantha 2 300x206 Unidentified Caterpillar

Unknown Caterpillar

Followup Query
June 5, 2011 2:08 am
Hi, I sent these pics to you in feburary and was wondering if you got any information on them? I’m still interested in knowing what kind of caterpillar this is. Thank you..
Samantha

Hi Samantha,
We did not have any luck in our initial attempt to identify this caterpillar, and unfortunately, none of our readers ever supplied us with an identification.  Sorry to disappoint you.  Sometimes identifications eventually happen months or years after the initial posting.

Posted 08 February 2011 § Cutworms and Owlet Caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Unknown Moth Caterpillar from Singapore

id a caterpillar
Location: Singapore
February 3, 2011 8:36 am
I was walking in the Singapore MacRitchie reservoir, and foaund a large family of these caterpillars. i have no knowledge about that, but we wonder what it will become in a few weeks?
Signature: Philippe

caterpillar social singapore philippe 300x186 Unknown Moth Caterpillar from Singapore

Unknown Caterpillar

Dear Philippe,
We tried to identify this social Caterpillar without much luck.  It will eventually metamorphose into a moth.  The Singapore Butterfly Interest Group website has no matching images, but it wouldn’t be much help if they did because none of the Moth Caterpillars there are identified.  The social feeding pattern should help in the identification, and knowing the food plant might also be of tremendous assistance.

Posted 03 February 2011 § ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Salt Marsh Caterpillar spins Cocoon

Fuzzy Caterpillar
Location: Arcadia, FL
February 1, 2011 8:43 am
My very curious and observant 2nd grade students found this caterpillar rolled up in a ball in the grass in our school yard on January 31. We are in Nocatee FL, just outside of Arcadia FL. (Southwest FL but more inland) He reminds me of a wooly bear but without the banding. I can’t find any photos online that look quite like him. They are all either too hairy, too orange, etc. We put some oak leaves/branches in our butterfly habitat with him but he doesn’t seem to be eating. I need to know what he eats! Also if he is some sort of tiger moth then everything I read says they will be in a pupa for most of spring/summer – would be good to know so we are not waiting endlessly for something to happen. Just wondering what you can tell me… THANK YOU!!!
Signature: Mrs. Maiolo’s 2nd Grade Class

salt marsh caterpillar mrs maiolo 300x154 Salt Marsh Caterpillar spins Cocoon

Salt Marsh Caterpillar

Dear Mrs. Maiolo’s 2nd Grade Class,
There is a reason this Salt Marsh Caterpillar, Estigmene acrea, reminds you of a Woolly Bear.  Both species are in the Tiger Moth tribe Arctiini.  BugGuide provides this information:  “Larvae feed on a wide variety of mainly weedy plants including pigweed (Amaranthus spp.), anglepod (Gonolobus spp.), Sicklepod (Cassia tora), Dog Fennel (Eupatorium capillifolium), ground cherry (Physalis spp.), and mallow (Anoda spp.), plus crops such as alfalfa, asparagus, bean, beet, cabbage, carrot, celery, clover, corn, cotton, lettuce, onion, pea, potato, soybean, sugarbeet, tobacco, tomato, and turnip. On rare occasions, they also feed on leaves of deciduous trees and shrubs: alder, apple, cherry, elderberry, pear, poplar, and serviceberry, according to Handfield.”   BugGuide also indicates:  “Adults fly from May to September. Adults fly year round in Texas“  and we expect the year round flight may also apply to Florida.  If your caterpillar is getting ready to pupate, it will cease eating.

Thank you! I did go outside today and pick some various weeds, etc and he was munching a bit.
(Then, my kids came in with what appears to be a Silk Moth today… oh boy… and it started laying eggs in our butterfly habitat! So that is another adventure… never had a class that was so “into” bugs before… these kids are constantly bringing me critters!)
Thanks again for your help!

Update
February 3, 2011
Sorry to keep bugging you (no pun intended), but thought you might like to add this photo to the caterpillar entry… it made a cocoon today! So, now we wait!…..

salt marsh cocoon 300x206 Salt Marsh Caterpillar spins Cocoon

Salt Marsh Moth Cocoon

Thanks for the update.  Like many Woolly Bears, the Salt Marsh Caterpillar incorporates its hairs into the spinning of its cocoon.

Posted 01 February 2011 § Woolly Bears ‡ Comments (1) °

Unknown Caterpillar from Zimbabwe

Caterpillar
Location: Zimbabwe
January 31, 2011 9:56 am
Hi we found this caterpillar in Harare, Zimbabwe, dying to know what it is. Its about 9cm long. Hope you can help.
Signature: Dana Lister

caterpillar child zimbabwe dana 300x225 Unknown Caterpillar from Zimbabwe

Unknown Caterpillar

Dear Dana,
We don’t recognize your caterpillar, which we believe will metamorphose into a moth and not a butterfly, but we love your photo.  We will post your letter and images and continue to search for the identity of this stunning creature, and we hope that our readership will assist us in scouring the internet for a possible identification.

caterpillar zimbabwe dana 300x206 Unknown Caterpillar from Zimbabwe

Unknown Caterpillar

Posted 01 February 2011 § ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

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