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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Emperor Gum Moth Caterpillar

Australian Caterpillar – Green with blue and orange hairs/spikes
Hi all,
I found this caterpillar in my eucalyptus tree in Victoria, Australia. He has been living there for at least the past 3 weeks and has been eating and growing constantly. I had a good look on your site but could not seem to identify him. I am curious about what he is and what type of butterfly or moth he will become. If you can help me at all that would be greatly appreciated! Thanks,
Angela

Hi Angela,
We have been searching the internet for your answer. At first we thought this might be the Helena Gum Moth, Opodiphthera helena. There is a website with good documentation of the life cycle. It didn’t seem like a perfect match though. Continued searching revealed a related species, the Emperor Gum Moth, Opodiphthera eucalypti. Your caterpillar appeared on an Australian stamp in 2003.

Posted 17 December 2007 § ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Buck Moth Caterpillar

caterpillar ID
Hi there,
Would you be able to ID this for me? I found it at Goose Lake in the campground on Hwy 24, just outside of Little Fort, British Columbia. Thanks very much.
Jody Foster

Hi Jody Foster,
This is some species of Buck Moth Caterpillar in the genus Hemileuca, but we are not certain of the species. BugGuide has images of caterpillars.

Update: (12/14/2007) your recent Hemileuca photo
Hi, I was looking at your site today and saw the photo of the Hemileuca photo from British Columbia dated: 12/13/2007. I think the species would be one of the following: Hemileuca eglanterina eglanterina Hemileuca hera Hemileuca nevadensis Hemileuca nuttalli These are the only Hemileuca spp. found in British Columbia. I’m not sure of the exact species but I thought I’d narrow it down to these four species.
Ryan

Posted 13 December 2007 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Imperial Moth Caterpillar

question on a caterpillar…
Hi there,
Love the site. Can you help me identify this one? It was in our front yard about a month ago. It measures 4-5 inches long. Biggest caterpillar I’ve encountered here. We had a very wet summer and have found many interesting things this fall including a Texas Brown tarantula (which we have as a pet now!). Thanks!
Penley
Austin Texas

Hi Penley,
This is an Imperial Moth Caterpillar. There are several color variations in addition to the orange coloration in your photo. They might also be green, blue-green, golden or brown. They feed on a on the leaves of variety of deciduous and coniferous trees. Yellow and purple adults do not feed and live but a few days.

Posted 24 November 2007 § ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Two Buck Moth Caterpillars and Unknown Caterpillar

cats?
Hi Bugman,
I just found your site and I LOVE IT!! Went through your 12 pages of caterpillars trying to identify these three specimens photographed on the high plains of Wyoming. The reddish one seems to be an Echo moth (Seirarctia echo) and the blue one most closely resembles a Tetrio sphinx moth. I know of global warming but both are neotropical, how did they get in Wyoming…hitch- hike?? Red cat photographed 7/5/07 in badlands near Douglas, WY; pasture nearby, cottonwood trees 1/2 mile away. Blue cat photographed 9/28/05 north of Lance Creek, WY; sagebrush pasture, a few juniper within 1/2 mile. The black cat was photographed 6/12/07 on young sagebrush in a high plains pasture of northern Natrona county, no trees within miles. Any help with definite identifications will be most gratefully received.
Dwaine Wagoner
Casper, WY

Hi Dwaine,
We have identified your black caterpillar first. This is a Buck Moth in the genus Hemileuca. It might be the Hera Buckmoth, Hemileuca hera, which has been reported from Wyoming. It does feed on sage. If this identification is not correct (the Butterflies and Moths of North America does not have a caterpillar image but the one on BugGuide looks very similar, though not exact), it might also be Nuttall’s Sheepmoth, Hemileuca nuttalli, another western species listed in Wyoming that feeds on sage. There is only an adult moth image on the Butterflies and Moths of North America.

We agree that your red caterpillar is probably an Arctiid, though not the Echo Moth. We have not had any luck identifying it but we will try to contact Julian Donahue to see if he recognizes it.

Correction (11/18/2007)
Sorry. My guess would be a hemileucine saturniid. Check out Paul Tuskes book on the Saturniidae of North America, which I think illustrates all the larvae. Julian

Finally, we do not believe your blue specimen is a caterpillar. We think it might be a Sawfly Larva, though we cannot match it on BugGuide. Eric Eaton is not currently available, but we will email him and hope he gets back to us next week. If we are wrong about this being a Sawfly, it might be some beetle grub.

Update: (11/26/2007)
Hi, Daniel:
I ‘think’ it is a caterpillar, but I’ve not seen anything like it before. It is not a sawfly, and I’m relatively confident it is not a beetle grub, as most beetle larvae are not that colorful.
Eric

Posted 17 November 2007 § Caterpillars and Pupa ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Imperial Moth Caterpillar

What an awesome, detailed photo you have sent to us. Can you confirm this as an Imperial Moth caterpillar? From my reading, it should pupate in the ground or under leaf cover – I am watching it dig in under leaf litter. Can I recover the chrysalis when it’s hard and keep it where I can watch it hatch out? Does it need special conditions to thrive? Love the site – spend ‘way too many hours looking at bugs!
Beth R.
Wimberley, TX

Hi Beth,
What an awesome, detailed photo you have sent to us. You are absolutely correct. This is an Imperial Moth Caterpillar. Probably the best way to keep the pupa for observation is to capture the caterpillar and keep it in a 5 gallon aquarium with several inches of loose, damp earth. The caterpillar will pupate when it is ready. Do not let the earth get too dry, but it is more important that it not get too wet. Mist it about once or twice a week with water. Keep a screen cover over the aquarium so there is air circulation. Keep the aquarium where it won’t freeze since it is not as well protected as if the caterpillar had buried itself in the ground. Do not keep the aquarium indoors as it will be too warm. Good luck.

Posted 04 November 2007 § ‡ Comments (0) °

A Medley of Caterpillars

For the love of Caterpillars
Dear Bugman:
Hope you had a great trip with the students. I know you all are super busy so since I last wrote you, I did some serious web searching and managed to identify my two ‘pillars that I sent in earlier this month (Hickory Tussock moth caterpillar and Yellow bear caterpillar–I think).

Hickory Tussock Moth Caterpillar Banded Tussock Moth Caterpillar

Since your site is so great and I use it so much, I thought I would give back a bit. Attached are all the photos I have taken of caterpillars near our home in Churchville, Virginia.

Buck Moth Caterpillar Io Moth Caterpillar

Hope you like them! (Higher resolution photos available if you want). Sincerely,
Lacey Parker

Monarch Caterpillar Banded Woollybear Caterpillar

Wow Lacey,
We really hit the jackpot with your awesome Caterpillar photos.

Posted 23 October 2007 § Tussock Moth Caterpillars § Woolly Bears § brush footed butterfly caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °

Hubbard’s Small Silkmoth Caterpillar

Odd Caterpillar
Sir,
My son’s and I located this odd looking caterpillar. It is purple and green with horns. It also has silver spikes on it’s back. We were wondering if you would be able to identify what it is. We have attached a few photo’s as well. Thank you for your time.
Michael

Hi Michael,
We are going to very gently inform you about how crucial it is for you to provide us with location information when submitting an identification request. We are certain this is a moth in the genus Syssphinx, most probably the Hubbard’s Small Silkmoth, Syssphinx hubbardi. It ranges from Arizona to West Texas. It is also found in extreme east California and south Nevada. If you live in central Texas, it is probably a closely related species, Syssphinx heiligbrodti.

Mr. Marlos,
I apologize, we live in Tucson, Arizona. I would also like to know if they are poisonous or if they sting.
Michael

Hi again Michael,
Thanks for writing back with your location. These caterpillars neither sting, nor are they poisonous. The frightful appearance is a protective device.

Posted 13 October 2007 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Imperial Moth Caterpillar

Caterpillar???
Any idea what kind of caterpillar this is? I found it on the front porch of my house in Austin, TX. Thanks!
John

Hi John,
After identifying three Imperial Moth Caterpillars today for readers from Texas, we thought we should post the best of the photographs, and that is yours.

Posted 12 October 2007 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Imperial Moth Caterpillar

Big Red Caterpillar
Can you identify this one? Found on Isle of Hope, Georgia.
Matthew A. Bryan

Hi Matthew,
The Imperial Moth Caterpillar is a highbly variable caterpillar in coloration. We have never seen one this red. Also, the spined dorsal tubercles on second and third thoracic segment on your specimen are a little different than we normally see. A lateral view would have been nice to see on your specimen.

Posted 09 October 2007 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Polyphemus Moth Caterpillar

polyphemus caterpillar?
I think from your site that this might be a polyphemus caterpillar, but I couldn’t really tell because the pictures of them weren’t quite sharp enough. So here is my picture. The kids found it in the back yard on September 9 near a maple tree, I believe. We live in Portland, Or. Thanks!
Leah Parker

Hi Leah,
You are correct. This is a Polyphemus Moth Caterpillar. Here is BugGuide’s description of the caterpillar: “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.” Most of the identifying features cannot be viewed from your camera angle. A lateral view is best. While the Polyphemus Moth Caterpillar might be confused with the Luna Moth Caterpillar in the east, there is nothing similar looking in the western U.S.

Posted 06 October 2007 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Hickory Horned Devil

Large Horned caterpillar
We found this caterpillar on a tree in our yard. We live close to Houston, TX and have never seen a caterpillar this large before. Can you identify it and let us know what it is?
Marlys Dow

Hi Marlys,
The spectacular Hickory Horned Devil will become the equally spectacular Royal Walnut Moth.

Posted 24 September 2007 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Larch Silkworm

can you identify this for me?
hey guys, i was surfing the internet trying to find out what this thing was. i found it up in a pine tree around 30-40 feet up at work. it is as long as a deck of cards, as one of the pictures shows. ive never seen one before. i live in washington state, near puget sound in stanwood. the place i work is less than a mile from the water. you guys have any ideas what it is? if you could email me back that would be awesome. thanks,
Andrew Smith

Hi Andrew,
We were relatively certain this caterpillar is in the genus Hyalophora, so we tried a websearch. We eventually locted information on the Larch Silkworm, Hyalophora columbia columbia on a Caterpillars on Conifers in the Eastern U.S. website. Hyalophora columbia is found in both eastern and western U.S. There are several subspecies, including Columbia Silkmoth and Glover’s Silkmoth. BugGuide lists the food plants in the west as: “leaves of alder, birch, Antelope Bitterbrush ( Purshia tridentata ), buckbrush ( Ceanothus spp.), buffaloberry, cherry, rose, Russian Olive ( Eleagnus angustifolius ), willow.” The photo you sent on foilage looks like larch to us. We are confident that we have properly identified your caterpillar, and perhaps the list of food plants in the west needs to be updated.

Posted 07 September 2007 § ‡ Comments (0) °

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