I do not know what this is
Location: DeKalb Illinois
October 30, 2011 10:51 pm
I was sitting at a table outside on my schools campus when I looked down at my arm and this thing was climbing up my arm. I have no idea what it is and cannot find any sort of description of it.
Signature: Desmond Wafers

White Marked Tussock Moth Caterpillar

Hi Desmond,
This caterpillar is a White Marked Tussock Moth or Rusty Vapor Moth, Orgyia leucostigma.  The caterpillars from this genus are quite distinctive and they should be handled with care.  According to BugGuide:  “CAUTION:  Contact with hairs may cause an allergic reaction.”

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Bugs on my Hop Plants
Location: Northwestern Ohio
August 16, 2011 2:28 pm
Attached is a picture of a bug that is all over my cascade Hops plant late this summer. It found white spun webs on leafs with them in it. There are a bunch more just crawling around curled up on the Hops leaves. They seem to leave the Hop cones alone. They are about 1.5 inch in length or smaller
Signature: John

White Marked Tussock Moth Caterpillar

Hi John,
This is a White Marked Tussock Moth Caterpillar, Orgyia leucostigma, and we are quite intrigued to learn that it feeds on the leaves of hops. According to BugGuide:  “Caterpillars feed on a wide range of hardwood trees and conifers. Wagner(1) lists ‘apple, birch, black locust, cherry, elm, hackberry, hickory, oak, rose, willow…fir, hemlock, larch, spruce and other conifers.’”  Thanks to your experience, we can add hops to the list.  BugGuide also indicates  “Flightless females lay a froth-covered mass of up to 300 eggs after mating.”  Since the female is flightless, it stands to reason that the species is not easily introduced to new areas unless they are somehow transported there, like through human intervention.  If the hops plants are new to your garden, you may have brought the eggs along with the plants.  One final note is that BugGuide warns: “CAUTION: Avoid handling the caterpillar, as its hair is known to cause allergic reactions, especially in areas of the body with sensitive skin (e.g. back, stomach, inner arms). Seek medical treatment if a severe reaction occurs.”  Out of our own curiosity, are you a home brewer?  Our friend Jared makes amazing home brews in Los Angeles, and we just got invited to the hop harvest this week.

Thanks for the quick reply Daniel! I am a home brewer. I planted these hops two years ago. I don’t remember the caterpillars last year but the hops were not as plentiful last year.Oddly, I planted 5 different hops plants right next to each other andhave only seen the caterpillars on the cascade hops. (who doesn’t like a little cascade?). I will ask my home brew store where the hops rhizomes came from.
Thanks again,
John mulligan
swanton, oh

Location: fairbanks, ak
July 25, 2011 8:41 pm
hi! i see these little guys in my garden all the time. just curious what kind of caterpillar? it is. it is black with 4 yellow knobs on its back. yellow tufts of hair, 2 antennae on top, 2 on the side, and one on the bottom.
Signature: just curious

Rusty Tussock Caterpillar

Dear just curious,
WE don’t get many insect images from Alaska, and it is always exciting when we do.  This is the Rusty Tussock Moth Caterpillar, Orygia antigua.  The Forest Health Conditions in Alaska 2003 Google Books website indicates: Rusty Tussock Moth populations were high this year on birch, willow, and blueberries.  Even though larval populations were high, levels of defoliation were low.  The dark hairy caterpillar is about 3 cm long with four yellow ‘tussocks’ of hair along the back, two tufts of dark hair near the head and one more at the rear.  The adult male is an erratic-flying-rusty-brown moth with a white dot and a light brown band on each forewing.  the female is flightless.  The biggest concern from the public was the likelihood of the caterpillar hairs causing irritation and rashes to blueberry pickers, as was published in a local newspaper.  Individuals and medical professionals from rural Alaska made several inquiries concerning the caterpillars’ potential for causing dermatitis.  Medical entomology reference texts indicate that their long hairs, left on plant material, can cause irritation to exposed skin even when not directly exposed to the live caterpillars.”  We rotated your image to make better use of our horizontal format.  The moth is also known as the Common Vapourer according to Inmagine.

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