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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Cecropia Moth Caterpillar

Caterpillar – large, green
July 28, 2009
Hi,
We spotted this fella eating away on our skip laurel bushes. It’s the end of July and we are in middle Tennessee. He/she is almost 4 inches long. Can you identify? Also, strange question but- could the critter’s waste possibly look like brown, segregated pellets? Those things are on several leaves beneath him and on the ground below. Thanks,
Thanks for your help, Karen
Middle Tennessee

Cecropia Moth Caterpillar

Cecropia Moth Caterpillar

Hi Karen,
Your caterpillar is a Cecropia Moth Caterpillar, one of the Giant Silk Moths.

Posted 29 July 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Imperial Moth Caterpillar, ready to pupate

moth caterpillar
July 24, 2009
Hi-We think this is an Imperial Moth Caterpillar about ready to pupate. Hope you like the image and thanks for all the work you!
KICA maint.
Kiawah Island, SC

Imperial Moth Caterpillar, just prior to pupation

Imperial Moth Caterpillar, just prior to pupation

Dear KICA maint.,
Your identification is spot on.  This is the only image we have received of a now immobile Imperial Moth Caterpillar just before the molt that will lead to the pupa stage.  The outline is already suggesting the shape of the pupa.  Generally, before the caterpillar reaches this stage, it has already buried itself as the pupal stage is underground.  We are guessing that you either dug up this caterpillar, or that it was unable to bury itself before initiating the pupal molt.  Perhaps you even raised the caterpillar in a place that would not facilitate underground pupation.  Thanks for sending us this excellent image.  You can find more information on the Imperial Moth on BugGuide.

Posted 26 July 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Pine Devil Moth Caterpillar

What did my son find?
June 20, 2009
My five year old LOVES catepillars and he found this one in Southwest Georgia on a Confederate Jasmine vine. It is about 1.25 inches.
J. Brooks
Southwest Georgia US

Unknown Caterpillar: Slendid Royal Moth???

Pine Devil Moth Caterpillar

Dear J.,
We wonder by chance if your son raised this caterpillar to see what the adult is.  We have been unsuccessful in pinpointing the species, but we have a far-fetched theory.  We believe this most resembles the Splendid Royal Moth Caterpillar, Citheronia splendens pictured on BugGuide.  There are several subspecies in Mexico and BugGuide lists sightings in Arizona and Florida.  You are in south Georgia, and if there is an established population in Florida, it is entirely possible that your caterpillar might be a Splendid Royal Moth Caterpillar.  The size you indicate would mean this is not the final instar for the caterpillar, and that it will grow, molt and change appearance before becoming a pupa.  We expect that as soon as this is posted, someone will write in with an obvious identification that will make us feel foolish.

Update:  with correction by Bill Oehlke
Seems we weren’t too far astray.  Bill Oehlke believes this to be a Pine Devil Moth Caterpillar, Citheronia sepulcralis, a member of the same genus.

Daniel,
Citheronnia splendens sinaloensis would be far from natural habitat in Florida or Georgia. I believe it is an early  instar of Citheronia sepulcralis.
Bill Oehlke

I think that is what it is!! I found a sightings map and there have been some sighted about 45 miles west and southwest of my location which is Thomasville, GA. There is a Pitch pine behind our house…which is very unusual for this area.  Must be where he came from. Can’t wait to tell my son what the caterpillar was. By the way, he did not raise it. We found it and released it. Thanks so much for your help!!! I’m sure we will be contacting you again because he is in the yard daily looking for “bugs”
J

Posted 18 July 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Io Moth Caterpillar

Found in bamboo tree
June 11, 2009
We live in New Orleans and found this caterpillar in a bamboo tree in our backyard. My son put it in a jar and fed it bamboo leaves (we tried other leaves but bamboo was all it ate). After about a week, it wrapped itself in leaves —- like a sleeping bag. That was about 1-1/2 weeks ago. We don’t think it’s dead but we’re not sure how long before it emerges. Is it a moth or a butterfly?
The Hoffs
New Orleans, LA

Io Moth Caterpillar

Io Moth Caterpillar

Dear Hoffs,
This is an Io Moth Caterpillar.  The adult moth is a beautiful creature with large eyespots on the lower wings.  We have never heard of Io Moth Caterpillars feeding on bamboo. The spines on the Io Moth Caterpillar can sting if the caterpillar is not handled carefully.

Posted 15 July 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Basilisk Lizard eats Silk Moth Caterpillar in Costa Rica

UNNECESSARY CARNAGE
Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 5:55 AM
Hi Bugman,
This basilisk lizard is not a pet. While sitting out by the pond fishing, this female ran over and grabbed the poor caterpillar. It was right in front of me on the ground and I didn’t see it until she grabbed it and it was too late. Do you have any idea what kind of caterpillar it was? It took the lizard around ten minutes to scarf it down. She looked pretty satisfied after she ate her prize.
Jordan
Costa Rica

Basilisk Lizard eats Silk Moth Caterpillar

Basilisk Lizard eats Silk Moth Caterpillar

Hi Jordan,
This is far from unnecessary carnage. That section of our website is devoted to the hapless creatures that are squashed and swatted by humans out of ignorance. This Basilisk Lizard is dining on a Giant Silk Moth Caterpillar as part of the beautiful Food Chain cycle that dictates many creature must eat or be eaten. It is difficult to ascertain the exact species of the caterpillar from the camera angle, but we are relatively certain it is in the family Saturniidae.

Posted 18 March 2009 § Iguanas and Lizards ‡ Comments (2) ° Tagged:

Bagworm and Giant Silk Moth Cocoon

Cocoons/Nests
Ok.  I’ve attached 3 photos below.  Thanks so much, Alanna

Hi Alanna,
There were no photos attached to this email.

On 3/6/09
Hi
I sent some photos late last month and wanted to check back with you
about the identification of them.  Our 7 year old girl thoroughly
enjoys all kinds of “BUGS” and can hardly wait for a response.
Thanks so much,
Alanna

Original Letter:  Feb 24, 2009, at 9:11 PM
cocoons/nests
I was wanting to know what we should expect
to emerge from these and how to possibly anticipate when (Can we
place these in a jar for observation until then?)?
Alanna
Metter, Ga

Bagworm

Bagworm

Hi Alana,
Sorry for the delay in getting to your response.  Additional delays resulted when you resent the request but we had no way of tracking your original letter with images.  Thanks for resending the images.  You have provided an image of a Bagworm, a species of moth that lives its entire caterpillar life inside a bag consructed of silken thread and bits of plant material from the host plant.  Your other cocoon is some Giant Silk Moth.  Both the Polyphemus Moth and Luna Moth wrap the cocoon in a leaf, and often the leaf falls to the ground, but occasionally the cocoon remains attached to the tree.  It appears as though the tree is a some sort of fruit tree.  Your third image which we are not posting, is of a Preying Mantis oothica or egg case.

Polyphemus or Luna Cocoon???

Polyphemus or Luna Cocoon???

Posted 14 March 2009 § Bagworm ‡ Comments (0) °

Stinging Caterpillar from the Amazon: Automeris species???

Caterpillar in Amazon
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 12:40 PM
Last week of January (rain season), we found this Caterpiller on a tree near a salt water pool in the rainforest of the southern Amazon in Brazil.
The Caterpiller is about 10 cm long. Image 1 shows the full view; image 2 shows the face; image 3 is not the Caterpiller, but a part (flower?) of the tree. It seems the caterpiller is mimicrying.
What, o what kind of caterpiller is this?
Rien Schot
Southern Amazon, Brazil

Automeris species Caterpillar

Automeris species Caterpillar

Hi Rien,
We are posting your image right before leaving for work and haven’t the time to research the species. We are quite certain this is a stinging caterpillar in the genus Automeris, a large genus that includes the North American Io Moth. When we have a chance, we will browse through the World’s Largest Saturniidae Site to see if we can identify the species.

Update:
Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 10:47 AM
Daniel:
What an interesting run of awesome but dangerous stinging caterpillars!  I think you called it right, it is in the genus Automeris (Saturniidae : Hemileucinae). This is a very large New World genus (150 species and subspecies by one count), so making an absolute identification is very difficult. However, based on appearance and distribution I believe it can be narrowed down to A. egeus or A. larra. Of the two, I think A. egeus is the closer match. Regards.
Karl
http://www.silkmoths.bizland.com/kwaegeus.htm

Thanks for the assistance Karl.  Once a word or term enters the zeitgeist of the world wide web, search engines latch onto it quite quickly.  A few weeks ago we answered and posted quite a few letters from Namibia.

Posted 20 February 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

African Emperor Caterpillars from South Africa

Black spiny caterpillar
Mon, Feb 16, 2009 at 12:43 PM
These caterpillars were found in a garden in Pretoria South Africa on a Kiepersol tree. The caterpillars are about 8 cm long. They are balck (or dark navy blue) with reddish spots on bothe sides of the body and sharop white spikes running next to the red spots on their bodies. I know this is a site for North America but would appreciate it very much if you perhaps have information for me.
Wia
Pretoria, South Africa

African Emperor Caterpillar

African Emperor Caterpillar

Dear Wia,
These spectacular caterpillars are the larval form of the equally spectacular African Emperor Moth, Bunaea alcinoe.  The African Emperor Moth is one of the Giant Silk Moths.

African Emperor Caterpillars

African Emperor Caterpillars

Posted 20 February 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Probably Stinging Saturniidae Caterpillars from Brazil

Unknown Stinging Moth or Butterfly Stinging Caterpillar from Brazil.
Tue, Feb 17, 2009 at 9:24 AM
Mr. Bugman, (this is my second e-mail…I am trying to be fortunate enough to get a little of your precious time to help me, so I can explain it to my children.)
This was found under the dirt (which my daughter stepped on it! Very painful!). Also on the banana trees and fruit trees around the area including oranges and also some coconut trees. This was on June 26, 2008 in Juazeiro do Norte, Ceara. Brazil. Winter time in the northeast area, temperature around 30F. I have looked all over the computer archive, also books in the library and book store. Could you help me to identify it. My sincerely gratitude. I hope I am not “Bugging” you too much.
Marianne Targino-VanBeber
Northeast Brazil, City: Juazeiro do Norte

Unknown Stinging Caterpillars

Probably Stinging Saturniidae Caterpillars

Dear Marianne,
We are sorry we did not answer your previous email, but it is impossible for us to respond, or even read, every email we receive. Since we just identified a stinging caterpillar from Mexico, your subject line caught our attention. We can tell you that these are not butterfly caterpillars, but for the moment, the best we can provide is that they are moth caterpillar , possibly related to Buck Moths or Io Moths in the family Hemileucinae. We will try to do some additional research when we have time, or perhaps one of our readers will be able to provide you with an identification.

Hi Daniel and Marianne:
Unfortunately the picture is a little fuzzy and it is difficult to make out details. Finding them “under the dirt” is a bit confusing as well. However, let’s try something and perhaps Marianne can help us out with some more information. They look like large caterpillars (?) and my first inclination is to suggest that they are Saturniid moths (family Saturniidae). They look like they could be in the genus Periphoba, possibly P. hircia which is common throughout northern South America. However, there are several Periphoba species found in that part of Brazil and they apparently are all quite similar. For comparison, I have included links to P. hicia and P. arcaei, a related species that is primarily from Central America. All caterpillars in this genus are capable of inflicting an extremely painful sting. Regards.
Karl
http://www.silkmoths.bizland.com/kwphircia.htm
http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu/Wadults/photopage.lasso?photocode%20dotj=DHJ25358.j

Dear Daniel,
Thank you very much for your reply.
I also want to thank Karl’s comments.
That day it was “rainning” green caterpillars. I wonder if one fell from the tree and was covered with dirt by accident and eventually my daughter stepped on it!
I was kind of scared to get any closer to one to take a better picture; but they were about the size of an index finger.:)
Marianne

Posted 19 February 2009 § ‡ Comments (2) °

Silkmoth Caterpillar: Hyalophora kasloensis

Blue and Red Spiked Caterpillar
Fri, Jan 16, 2009 at 8:39 PM
Blue and Red Spiked Caterpillar
While wandering along a wooded path in northern Idaho, I found this amazing looking caterpillar in the high bushes. The colorful red and blue spikes really make it stand out, but i have been unsuccessful in identification. It was mid August and i was along the mountainous shores of Pend Orielle Lake. Thanks for your help!
Sarah
Northern Idaho

Silkmoth Caterpillar

Silkmoth Caterpillar: Genus Hyalophora

Hi Sarah,
Your caterpillar appears to be one of the earlier instars of a Silkmoth in the genus Hyalophora. Caterpillars molt four times, once between each of the five instars. The instars often look quite different, and many times field guides only hshow the final or firth instar. We believe this may be the third instar of either the Ceanothus Silkmoth, Hyalophora euryalus , or perhaps Glovers Silkmoth, Hyalophora columbia gloveri , or perhaps another species without a common name, Hyalophora kasloensis. All three are found in Idaho. We are going to contach Bill Oehlke to see if he can identify your caterpillar more exactly. He may want to know the exact county and date of the sighting.

Daniel,
It appears to be Hyalophora kasloensis which may be a self sustaining hybrid of H. euryalus and H. columbia gloveri.  Usually if all of the thoracic and abdominal tubercles are red, the insect gets classified as kasloensis, but could also just be a local race or variation of euryalus.  It is also possible that kasloensis is a valid species, not just a self sustaining (capable of reproduction) hybrid.  You could safely call it Hyalophora kasloensis
Bill Oehlke

Thanks Bill,
We considered Hyalaphora kasloensis as the most likely candidate by searching the listings for Idaho on the World’s Largest Saturniidae Site, the membership only website.  Readers may find out more about the site as well as seeing a photo of the adult moth by viewing the World’s Largest Saturniidae Site
Fifteen 2007 Individual Photo Finalists.

Posted 17 January 2009 § ‡ Comments (4) °

Unknown Predatory Red Hemipteran Nymphs feeding on Imbrasia wahlbergi Caterpillar in South Africa

Unidentified predatory red bug/beetle
Thu, Jan 8, 2009 at 3:29 AM
This bug (beetle?) appeared about five years ago in our rural, coastal area (Cintsa, East London, South Africa) and has been terrorizing the undergrowth ever since. Individuals patrol paths and garden areas, seeking prey. Groups participate in the kill, biting or stinging the victim repeatedly until it stops moving. They will then sit on the prey, presumably feeding, sometimes for the rest of the day. They have been observed attacking and feeding on centipedes, spiders and caterpillars (particularly the large black caterpillars that feed on African plum trees – see image).
They are red/orange with darker areas around where wings should be. They appear to have a pointed snout. We have observed them clustering under cover in larger groups overnight.
Dave Roberts
Cintsa, East London, South Africa

Unknown Predatory Hemipteran Nymph

Unknown Predatory Hemipteran Nymph

Hi Dave,
You just made us late for work. We really wanted to identify your predatory red Hemipteran nymphs as well as the Saturniid Caterpillar they are feeding upon, but our internet connection is so slow right now, we need more time. We are posting this as unidentified right now, but we are confident we will be able to assist you in a proper identification either alone or with the assistance of our readership. The Hemipterans don’t look like Assassin Bugs, which would be a likely candidate.

Predatory Hemipterans feed on Saturniid Caterpillar

Predatory Hemipterans feed on Saturniid Caterpillar

Update:Predatory Red Hemipteran Nymphs feeding on Unknown Saturniid Caterpillar
Fri, Jan 9, 2009 at 2:20 PM
Hi Daniel:
I think the predatory bugs are probably immature assassin bugs of some kind, but I am out on a limb even with that. The Saturniid caterpillar looks like Imbrasia wahlbergi . An adult of this spectacular species appeared on WTB previously (Saturniid Moth from South Africa: Imbrasia wahlbergi – May 7th, 2007). Regards.
Karl

Thanks for the ID on the Imbrasia wahlbergi Caterpillar Karl. As we wrote to Dave this morning, we were running late for work. As things played out, we got to LACC to teach about 6 minutes before class started. We were going to search the World’s Greatest Saturniidae Site which contains the Kirby Wolfe link you provided. We will have to spend some time researching the Hemipteran nymphs now. They behave like Assassin Bugs, but don’t look like Assassin Bugs. Perhaps they are Predatory Stink Bugs, but they don’t look like Stink Bugs either. They actually resemble plant eating Hemipterans. We have run several images in the past of social feeding Assassin Bugs that feed on Millipedes, Ectrichodia crux, but these individuals look different if our memory serves us correctly.

Update from Eric Eaton
Sayturday, January 10, 2009
The hemipterans are likely in the family Lygaeidae. Many (most?) of the Heteroptera are opportunistic scavengers or predators. I once saw two small milkweed bugs feeding on a dead honeybee, for example. But, the bugs in the image are nymphs, so no way to be certain for sure (though I think it is safe to rule out assassin bugs).
Eric

Update from Dave:  January 11, 2009
Thanks, bug masters! Apologies for the omission of some info. Length is around 8-12mm, and it was a millipede they were eating, not a centipede. The millipede assassin bugs look pretty close, but they’re a little too red, and the bugs in question don’t have the third black spot on their back. I think you nailed the caterpillar – thanks again.
I’ll get the search going to find the adults.

Posted 09 January 2009 § True Bugs ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged: ,

Imperial Moth Caterpillar

Caterpiller
Sun, Nov 23, 2008 at 1:10 PM
Hello, I found this really cool caterpiller in my garden and I can’t find any pictures that match him it seems most are green. I live in central Florida and would like to know what it is and what it eats. Any information you have would be great.
Thank you in advance!
P.S. my kids and I love your website!!!!
Felice Gilmartin
Central Florida

Imperial Moth Caterpillar

Imperial Moth Caterpillar

Hi Felice,
This is an Imperial Moth Caterpillar, Eacles imperialis.  Most specimens of caterpillars of this species are green, but in order to better ensure the survival of the species, there are also blue-green, brown, and orange color variations of this caterpillar.  Many caterpillars change color right before pupation.  Imperial Moth Caterpillars pupate in the soil, and we suspect this individual left the tree upon which it was feeding, and was searching for a nice plot of dirt in which to pupate when you encountered it.  Imperial Moth Caterpillars are not real fussy about their food.  Specimens are found on a large variety of deciduous trees and they will even feed on some coniferous trees.  Adult Imperial Moths do not feed.

Posted 23 November 2008 § ‡ Comments (0) °

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