Weird caterpillar
Location: Midwest City, OK
October 15, 2011 1:27 pm
What the heck is this??
Signature: Elizabeth
Spiny Oak Slug Caterpillar
Hi Elizabeth,
This caterpillar is in the genus Euclea. We found a matching photo on BugGuide, and we believe there is a good chance it is the Spiny Oak Slug, Euclea delphinii, a species with a highly variable caterpillar. Exercise caution when handling the Spiny Oak Slug as well as other members of the family Limacodidae, as many species have stinging spines.
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Maybe a caterpillar?
Location: Tallahassee, fl in the fall
October 13, 2011 12:03 pm
This bug has been crawling on my car for about 3 days. I tried to put it on a leaf and it got all puffed up and wouldn’t come off.
Signature: Jessica
Crowned Slug
Hi Jessica,
You are correct that this is a caterpillar. More specifically, it is a Crowned Slug, Isa textula, one of the stinging Slug Caterpillars in the family Limacodidae.
1
What’s Yellow and Furry and Just Plain Strange?
Location: Central America (Belize or Guatemala)
October 13, 2011 1:47 pm
My daughter and I saw this in Belize or Guatemala (can’t remember what part of the trip) and are stumped. Totally and completely.
Signature: Shoshana
Monkey Slug from Belize
Hi Shoshana,
This caterpillar looks so much like the stinging Monkey Slug from North America, Phobetron pithecium (see BugGuide), that we believe it is either the same species, a subspecies, or a closely related species in the same genus.
1
Caterpillar
Location: Southern California, Riverside
October 13, 2011 6:10 am
I shot this little guy Oct 08th 2011, in the San Bernadino Mts, Just west of Oak Glenn, at 4500 Ft altitude.
Signature: Rob Lusk
Spotted Tussock Moth Caterpillar
Hi Rob,
This is a Spotted Tussock Moth Caterpillar, Lophocampa maculata. Often a food plant can be used to identify a caterpillar or other insect. Your Spotted Tussock Moth Caterpillar appears to be feeding on blackberry or some other thorny shrub. According to BugGuide: “Larvae prefer leaves of poplar and willow, but also feed on alder, basswood, birch, maple, oak.” Since they are listed as preferences, it implies that other plants are not as preferred as food. BugGuide also has a nice example of regional caterpillar variations, and your individual most closely resembles the Rocky Mountain variation. Perhaps that is really a high altitude variation.
Daniel, Thank You for the Identification. The site is a fantastic resource, that I use frequently. I figured it was on the site somewhere, but I gave up too soon.
All the best,
Rob Lusk
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weird one
Location: Baguio City, Philippines, Southeast Asia
October 12, 2011 1:33 am
Hi bugman. I live in the Philippines and I have encountered this alien-like insect with its upper body being an ant and the lower end is a caterpillar’s. It’s less than an inch long and I got it from a guava tree. Could you please identify this one?
Signature: Reply details through e-mail.
Lobster Caterpillar
The very distinctive Lobster Caterpillar, Stauropus fagi, is a morphologically unusual caterpillar that doesn’t resemble any other members of the Prominent Moth family. The species ranges across Eurasia from England to China. This is a young instar that will molt several times, growing after each molt, until it eventually pupates and emerges as an adult moth.
Lobster Caterpillar
Wow. Thanks a lot for the info, sir… I appreciate it.
1
Ceratomia catalpae parasitized by Apanteles congregatus
Location: Northeast Tennessee
Subject: Ceratomia catalpae parasitized by Apanteles congregatus
Location: Northeast Tennessee
October 10, 2011 9:02 pm
Or…
Catalpa Sphinx caterpillar with eggs from a parasitic Braconid wasp.
I took these at my grandparents’ house last weekend.
There was a congregation of about 6 caterpillars on the leaves of one branch of their Catawba tree. They were not moving and many had these eggs on them. Some were hanging (as if about to pupate, maybe?). Sorry they’re so blurry, my camera is really crappy:)
Love your site!
Signature: Easily Fascinated Strikes Again
Parasitized Catalpa Sphinx
Dear Easily Fascinated Strikes Again,
This is a very interesting sighting, though not really rare. We wish your photos were clearer, but we are posting the best of them anyways. Thanks so much for your concise personal observations.
wierd subteranian segmented worm-like thing
Location: zebulon nc
October 8, 2011 3:16 pm
My wife dug this thing up when planting a bush. It moves when touched but it does not appear to be able to move much. Reminds me of something in metamorphosis, except it moves. Its segmented and has a hornlike projection. What is this thing?
Signature: Sterling Mull
Imperial Moth Pupa, we believe
Dear Sterling,
This is the Pupa of one of the Giant Silkmoths, and we believe it is most likely the pupa of the Imperial Moth. Here is a photo from BugGuide that supports our theory.
Strange Caterpillar
Location: Olathe, Kansas
October 3, 2011 7:22 pm
We saw this caterpillar today in the parking lot of a local nature center. No one in our group had ever seen one like it before. It was about three to four inches long and about half an inch thick.
We tried to shift it onto a piece of paper to move it into the grass; it reacted by violently wriggling side to side, almost like a snake. (We stopped trying and left it alone.)
Any idea what it is?
Signature: Joyce and Josh
White-Lined Sphinx Caterpillar
Dear Joyce and Josh,
This is the highly variable caterpillar of the White Lined Sphinx or Striped Morning Sphinx, Hyles lineata. In addition to this black form, some individuals are green and others are yellow. The caterpillars of the White-Lined Sphinx are edible.
Thanks very much for the information! We appreciate it but we will not be eating any White-Lined Sphinx caterpillars anytime soon.
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