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
¶ Posted 12 October 2011 § ‡ ° 4 ’Red Headed’ caterpillars grouped together
Location: Raleigh, NC
September 21, 2011 11:47 am
Hi Bugman,
I found out about you from a guy I work with. And thought that’s so cool!
The other day I saw that one of my azalea bushes was looking a little decrepit. Upon further examination, I saw on a couple of branches, 3-4 caterpillars clumped together on each separate branch. Each caterpillar is 2-3 inches long at least a 1/4 inch in diameter. Mostly black, with sort of yellow stripes and red heads (or tails?)
Signature: Carolyn
Azalea Caterpillars
Hi Carolyn,
Thanks for supplying the information that azalea is the food plant. Knowing the food plant for a caterpillar makes identification so much easier, though in the case of these Azalea Caterpillars, Datana major, we have identified them enough times in the past to know what they were immediately. You can also view the BugGuide information page to learn more about this species that feeds in groups and often strikes a dramatic pose when it feels threatened.
¶ Posted 21 September 2011 § ‡ ° i found this crazy caterpillar
Location: Denton, NC
September 5, 2011 10:52 am
Hello.. while sitting outside this crazy thing came strolling by and I just had to know what it was!! Can you help?
Signature: Amanda Presker
White Blotched Heterocampa Caterpillar
Hi Amanda,
This Prominent Moth Caterpillar in the genus Heterocampa is most likely the White Blotched Heterocampa, Heterocampa umbrata. You can see many examples on BugGuide of similarly colored purple individuals. This species, like many caterpillars, changes color right before pupation, and the green camouflage coloration is replaced by this stunning purple and magenta coloration.
1
¶ Posted 05 September 2011 § ‡ ° Early Instar Unicorn Caterpillar
Location: S. Illinois
August 22, 2011 6:01 pm
Think this is an early instar unicorn caterpillar. Right about an inch long, on oak. This image is a little sharper than the one I sent along last year.
Signature: Bert
Unicorn Caterpillar
Dear Bert,
This does appear to be a Unicorn Caterpillar or another closely related member of the same genus Schizura based on photos posted to BugGuide. If it is significantly smaller than the image you sent last year, it is most likely an earlier instar, though we cannot tell scale by comparing the two images.
¶ Posted 22 August 2011 § ‡ ° Can u help id
August 11, 2011 3:18 PM (13 hours ago)
Any idea what these are?
Thanks
Kim Carlen
Prominent Moth Caterpillars from the genus Datana
Ed. Note: Though we appreciate the brevity of texting and the capacity for using cellular telephones for all communications, we created a submission form so we would not have to keep asking the same questions, like the location where the image was taken. We have written back requesting the location on this image.
Caterpillar id
Location: NE Pa
August 12, 2011 3:08 pm
Can you please help id these caterpillars. They were on a blueberry bush in NE PA. Thanks for your help.
Signature: Kim Carlen
Thanks for resending Kim. We don’t want to waste time searching North American species if the submission is from Australia, for example. These are Prominent Moth caterpillars in the genus Datana. Based on your location, we believe the likeliest candidate is Datana drexelii, and BugGuide indicates that Blueberry is a food plant. The list of food plants is: “Birch, blueberry, linden, sassafras, sourwood, and witch-hazel.”
2
¶ Posted 13 August 2011 § ‡ ° Caterpillars
Location: Clarks Summit,Pennsylvania
August 8, 2011 10:49 am
I found this in the middle of my cousins driveway and i’m not sure what it is.
Signature: Joey M
Traumatized Prominent Moth Caterpillar
Hi Joey,
This is a Prominent Moth Caterpillar in the genus Heterocampa. Compare your individual to this image on BugGuide. It is a typically green caterpillar, and just prior to metamorphosis, it frequently turns pink. Judging by the unnatural anal discharge, we fear this individual has been traumatized to the point that it will not live to see its winged stage. It appears to have been squished.
¶ Posted 09 August 2011 § ‡ ° 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.
¶ Posted 03 August 2011 § ‡ ° Vietnamese Bug Boggle
Location: Mekong River, southern Vietnam
June 4, 2011 1:01 am
This guy was found on a farm at the edge of the Mekong River near the village Cai Be, Southern Vietnam.
Thanks if you can name it for me ^_^
Signature: Jardine
Lobster Caterpillar
Dear Jardine,
This most unusual looking Caterpillar is known as the Lobster Caterpillar, Stauropus fagi. It is a caterpillar in the moth family Notodontidae, and the species is found across the Eurasian continent and including the islands of Southern England and Japan. Here is a link to a photo on the UK Moths website and here are images from the Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa website that show much of the life cycle. We will be out of the office for a week in mid June, and we do not want our regular readers to suffer any bug withdrawals, so we are preparing your request to post live to our site on June 13.
¶ Posted 13 June 2011 § ‡ ° 
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