imperial moth catepillar?
November 1, 2009
this guy fell off a night blooming cereus plant. 11/01/09. i put him in the pot and took a few more photos. when i checked on it 20 minutes later it was gone. buried in the pot maybe? will this be its ground to pupae stage? will it eat the roots if this is indeed where it went?
Cathy Saunders
Longview Tx

Imperial Moth Caterpillar

Hi Cathy,
The only question we are able to answer for certain is to confirm that this is an Imperial Moth Caterpillar.  Finding it on the cactus plant is unusual and we would not expect that it was feeding there.  It may have buried itself in the pot where it will not eat the roots (guess we answered a second question), but it may also have wandered off or fallen prey to some hungry bird or other predator.

Pictures of orange Imperial Moth caterpillar
October 11, 2009
Found it crawling across my office’s parking lot during midday, 9/29/09, so it must have been looking for a spot to burrow into for pupating.
The office has many types of trees, including conifers.
Thanks to your awesome site, I was able to identify it and learn more about it.
Please feel free to use these pictures. I think they’re pretty good! There are 4 pictures I wanted to give to you, so I’ll send another message after this one with the 4th pic.
Be sure to check out the drool at the bottom of its mouth in the facial closeup!
Thy Nguyen Cavagnaro – Barnegat, NJ
Jamesburg, NJ

Imperial Moth Caterpillar

Dear Thy,
Thanks for sending us your gorgeous images of an orange Imperial Moth Caterpillar.  There are several different color variations for the Imperial Moth Caterpillar, including green, blue-green, and brown, and the caterpillar often changes color just prior to pupation.  This bright orange variation is not one of the variations we see most often and it is a lovely addition to our archives.

Imperial Moth Caterpillar

big neon green caterpillar
September 19, 2009
My husband and I found this 3 inch long almost an inch wide big neon green caterpillar eating peacon leaves.What kind of caterpillar is this and what will it turn into..
Barb claremont north carolina…
Claremont,North Carolina foothills.

Luna Caterpillar

Hi Barb,
This is a Polyphemus Moth Caterpillar.  It will transform into a large beautiful moth.

Ed. Note:
Upon receiving a comment that this was a Luna Moth Caterpillar and not a Polyphemus Moth Caterpillar, we are amending our original identification.  The Luna Caterpillar is picture and described on BugGuide as “Larva lime-green with pink spots and weak subspiracular stripe on abdomen. Yellow lines cross the larva’s back near the back end of each segment (compare Polyphemus moth caterpillars, which have yellow lines crossing at spiracles). Anal proleg edged in yellow.(2) Sparse hairs.“  The Polyphemus Moth Caterpillar is described on BugGuide as:  “Larva: body large, bright green, with red and silvery spots below setae, and oblique yellow lines running through spiracles on abdomen; diagonal streak of black and silver on ninth abdominal segment; head and true legs brown; base of primary setae red, subdorsal and lateral setae have silver shading below; end of prolegs with yellow ring, and tipped in black.“

Aggregating Larvae
August 30, 2009
Don’t have much info other than that these are rather large larvae on a tree in Honduras. Photo taken by a friend of a friend.
Scott
Honduras

Arsenura armida aggregation

Dear Scott,
Over the years, we received similar images four times before we finally identified the Caterpillars as Arsenura armida, a Neotropical Silkmoth that ranges from Mexico to Brazil.  Here is a website with information on the caterpillars.  The God of Insects website has an image of the adult moth.

horned caterpiller
August 24, 2009
Hello,
Some friends and I were taking a walk in Hemlock gorge in Maryland and we came across a very strange caterpiller. It was on a chunk of tree bark which was on top of a large rock in a stream.
Jason
Hemlock Gorge Maryland

Hickory Horned Devil

Hi Jason,
We always enjoy posting the first Hickory Horned Devil photographs of the season, and your photo is neither the first nor the second we received, but it is the most detailed.  Thanks for sending us this gorgeous Hickory Horned Devil photograph.

Huge red and yellow caterillar???
July 30, 2009
Hi, I am staying in the eastern cape of South Africa and yesterday spotted this caterpillar? grub? crawling along the ground. It was approx 3″ long and appeared to be trying to burrow or dig into the ground. It moved like a caterpillar – that is to say it lifted the centre of its body off the ground as it moved. The local men told me it is a ‘worm’….. but we wondered what is it really?? I have tried looking online but no luck. I hope you can help!
Sarah
Eastern Cape, South Africa

Carpenter Moth Caterpillar from South Africa

Hi Sarah,
We are fairly certain that this is a Giant Silk Moth Caterpillar in the family Saturniidae, but we could not locate a matching image on the World’s Greatest Saturniidae website.  We will contact Bill Oehlke to see if he knows what species this is. Perhaps one of our other readers will be able to supply an answer.

Bill Oehlke responds
July 31, 2009
Daniel,
I do not know that one. i do not think it is a Saturniidae species.
Bill Oehlke

Possible ID from Karl
August 14, 2009
Daniel:
Another possibility is that this impressive larva is a Carpenter Moth (Cossidae), some of which can be quite large.  Carpenter moths are stem and root borers, hence the common name for the group.  In most species the larvae live out their terms (up to 5 years) within their woody tunnels and galleries and therefore have no need for bright colors; most are white or cream colored. Some species, however, do change hosts occasionally when they run out of food, their host dies, or to burrow underground to pupate (could the latter behavior be what Sarah observed?). Such species can be brightly colored, often a warning to potential predators of toxicity or bad taste. A good example is the Goat Moth (Cossus cossus) of Europe and northern Africa, which bears considerable resemblance to the larva in Sarah’s photo. I was particularly struck by the similar markings on the pronotal shield, just behind the head. The Goat moth is one example of a Cossid moth larva that does leave its tree in the final stages of development to pupate underground. The Cossidae are well represented in South Africa, including at least two Cossus species (C. windhoekensis and C. terebroides) but descriptive information about larvae is difficult to find and I was not able to identify a potential candidate genus or species. Regards.
Karl