Caterpillar
Location: WEst Coast National Park, Langebaan , S. Africa
November 20, 2010 11:28 am
We saw a few of these caterpillars in the West Coast National Park about 100kms north of Cape Town , S.Africa. It looks like a mopane worm, and is the right size for a mopane worm but from what I can gather they are not found this far south and I dont think there are any mopane trees in the Park.
Any ideas?
Signature: Max Hopfl
Pine Emperor Caterpillar
Dear Max,
We identified your caterpillar as the Pine Emperor Moth, Nudaurelia cytherea, by researching on the World’s Largest Saturniidae Site. We found information on a virus that is being used to combat infestations of the Pine Emperor Moth Caterpillar on the Science in Africa website. We also found information that the caterpillar is edible and appeared on a stamp from Uganda.
Insects of Uganda Stamps
Hi Daniel:
Phew, that was quick. Many thanks for the identification. I knew it couldnt be the mopane worm , gonimbrasia belina,( which is also edible and indeed a very important food source for the northern people of southern Africa: Wiki says: It is estimated that South Africa alone trades 1.6 million kilogrammes of mopane worm annually, 8 and that Botswana’s involvement in this industry nets it roughly $8 million annually) as the mopane bush doesnt come this far south. Ironically, there are no pine trees in the West Coast National Park either, but they seem to have found a tasty alternative.
Beautiful creature, dont you think.
Regards and thanks again, Max
We are very lucky that Bill Oehlke has given us access to the World’s Largest Saturniidae website, though we cannot link to it since it is a member’s only website. It is a lovely caterpillar.
Zebra Caterpillar (Ceramica picta)
Location: Ancaster, Ontario
November 16, 2010 11:13 am
A hitch hiker in a potted hardy Chyrsanthemum from a garden centre, and searching through your entire archive, not a caterpillar you have on your site!
Such a lovely looking creature, but apparently it’s a real pain in the fruits and vegetables and makes a rather dull brown moth.
I guess they all can’t grow up to be monarchs!
Cheers!
Signature: Cheryl-Anne
Zebra Caterpillar
Hi again Cheryl-Anne,
You sure are keeping us supplied with nice and unusual photographs. We haven’t many images of Zebra Caterpillars on our site, and we did a bit of research on the species. BugGuide does not recognize the genus name Ceramica, and the moth is identified as Melanchra picta. Interestingly, BugGuide notes: “adults are uncommon but larvae may be a pest.“
Zebra Caterpillar
Hornworm 11/10
Location: Central Florida/Viera
November 11, 2010 1:36 pm
My daughter would like an ID so she can care for it properly. Seems similar to a Tomato Hornworm? Please help, thanks!
Signature: nativFL
Mournful Sphinx Caterpillar
Dear nativFL,
We did some research and we have arrived at the conclusion that your caterpillar is a Mournful Sphinx Caterpillar, Enyo lugubris. You may visit The Sphingidae of the Americas website to compare the photos there.
what is this?
Location: Sacramento, CA
November 9, 2010 12:01 am
Hello there,
Three of these caterpillar/larva are on my deck. I have never seen anything like them before. I took the picture. Also, what is that reddish orange part that isn’t the head? Hope you can help.
Signature: MaryLynn
Red Humped Caterpillar
Dear MaryLynn,
Knowing where to begin a search is often very helpful. We thought your caterpillar resembled a Prominent Moth Caterpillar in the family Notodontidae, and we were quickly rewarded while searching BugGuide with the Red Humped Caterpillar, Schizura concinna, a species found coast to coast in North America. The “reddish orange part that is not the head” is the hump, though we cannot say for certain what its purpose is.
Wow! You guys are sure prompt. Many thanks, Daniel.
ML
Location: Auburn, CA
November 7, 2010 2:20 pm
We found this guy on our Serrano pepper plant a couple months ago, then he disappeared (thought he might have been a spicy treat for a bird), but yesterday we found him and a friend on our adjacent Jalapeno and Anaheim plants. They are 5-6” long. Interested to see what they become. Love your site. Thank you.
Signature: Auburn Jeff
Tobacco Hornworm
Hi Jeff,
Your caterpillar is a Tobacco Hornworm, Manduca sexta, also known as the Carolina Sphinx. These caterpillars are most frequently found feeding on the leaves of tomato plants, but they will also feed on related plants in the nightshade family including pepper. The individual you found several months ago may have gone underground and metamorphosed and we feel the current caterpillars are different individuals.
What did I dig up?
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
November 6, 2010 12:09 am
When planting some bulbs a couple of weeks ago, I dug up this pupa. It was in a weedy area with a couple of milkweed plants, among a lot of catnip and other minor weeds. It was also nearby some lilacs. It weighs 5g and I think it is still alive. The only caterpillars I’ve seen in the area have been monarchs.
Signature: Jason
Sphinx Pupa
Dear Jason,
This is the Pupa of one of the Hawkmoths in the family Sphingidae. The Caterpillars are often called Hornworms because of the caudal horn, or Sphinxes because they assume a pose reminiscent of the Egyptian Sphinx. We normally don’t try to identify Pupae found underground to the species level as that is really beyond our means, but since this was a garden, and perhaps there may have been tomato plants growing nearby, this may be the Pupa of a Five Spotted Hawkmoth, Manduca quinquemaculata, which may be seen on the Sphingidae of the Americas website, or the Carolina Sphinx, Manduca sexta, which may be viewed on BugGuide. Both species have caterpillars that feed on the leaves of tomato plants, both pupate underground, and both have sheaths for their long proboscis which causes the pupa to resemble a jug with a handle.
rustic sphinx moth question
Location: Galveston County, Texas
November 5, 2010 9:14 am
Found one in our back yard, identified it via your website. We live in a newly-constructed suburban development and there is almost nothing for it to eat here. If we were going to raise it to moth-hood, what should we provide in the way of food?
Signature: steeleam
Rustic Hornworm
Dear steeleam,
Pointy finger is a nice use of scale. We are of the opinion that if a caterpillar is feeding upon a plant, that plant must be a single diet, a preferred food, an unknown opportunity or a wildlife corridor away from a food source. Hopefully it is #2 because that allows for a divergent population of Rustic Hornworms that is most likely to survive to adulthood. Is there some reason you doubt that the plant upon which you discovered this Rustic Sphinx is not an appropriate food? That would be our first guess, but we cannot determine the plant species, though it looks vaguely like a Fuschia. You can research preferred food plant on the Sphingidae of the Americas website. We are beginning to have our dissatisfaction with the common names for the members of the family Sphingidae. Sphinx and Hornworm should only be used for the caterpillar because of its preferred pose and its anatomical features. Hawkmoth should be reserved for the nocturnal species and Hummingbird Moth for the diurnal.
thanks for writing me back. I didn’t explain myself clearly. I found that caterpillar in one of my potted plants, a lantana. The plant was almost totally consumed by that point, not much more food left available for the critter. So I was wondering what else I could feed it. Because we live in a newly-built neighborhood, not much else has been planted yet here. It wasn’t as simple as transfering him to another plant, because there are none.
I kept it in a large container and provided fresh lantana leaves for about a day, but it did not eat and appeared to be under stress, alternately going into some kind of rigor mortis and then waking back up again. So I placed it on the soil below the lantana. It promptly burrowed into the ground, so perhaps it was time to coccoon.
The behavior you describe is consistent with metamorphosis. Sphinx Caterpillars do not cocoon. A cocoon is spun from silk and the Sphinx Caterpillar will simply molt into a bare pupa.
Scary 5inch long caterpillar!!
Location: Crete Greece
October 26, 2010 11:30 am
Dear Bugman,
Again I need your expert help to identify this very large caterpillar which arrived on my patio under the Bouganvillia after strong winds in the night. At first I thought it was a snake! Hawk moth again maybe? Five inches long, a horn at the rear and cream colour underneath. I live on the island of Crete. Thanks for all you do to enlighten us amateur nature lovers!
Signature: Cathy P
Death's-Head Hawkmoth Hornworm
Hi Cathy,
You are correct. This is a Hornworm as the caterpillars of the Hawkmoths are frequently called. Alas, we do not know the species and a cursory search of the internet did not turn up any matches. Perhaps one of our readers will have better luck identifying the species.
Hi Daniel and Cathy:
It looks like a brown color variant of the Death’s-head Hawkmoth, Acherontia atropos, which is widespread throughout Europe and Africa. As with many hawkmoth (Sphingidae) caterpillars, it comes in a large variety of body colors and patterns. Wikipedia provides lots of interesting information about the species. Regards. Karl
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