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Unexpected Cycnia: Metamorphosis of a Tiger Moth

Cycnia Inopinatus – larva/pupa/adult, 1 of 2
Location: Naperville, IL
August 22, 2011 12:32 pm
Dear Daniel~
I found this little caterpillar on August 10th, on some asclepias tuberosa (butterfly weed). I tentatively ID’ed it as Cycnia Inopinatus, but I’d read that although it might be locally common, overall it is uncommon to rare due to habitat decline. It was certainly the larva of a tiger moth, and its coloration, host plant and region (Great Lakes area) all pointed to the unexpected tiger moth. I placed it in one of my Monarch egg-rearing containers for observation, but before long, and before I could move it, it made its cocoon and pupated on the container’s lid. (Sorry for the red color cast.) It eclosed this morning, and sure enough, it’s a beautiful little cycnia inopinatus, similar in its adult stage to the delicate cycnia moth (cycnia tenera) that you have on your site, but whose larvae are quite different. The photos of the adult are in a separate submission, and I’ve included a side view so that you can see its orange, speckled abdom en. All the best to you!
Signature: Dori Eldridge

unexpected cycnia cat dori 300x206 Unexpected Cycnia: Metamorphosis of a Tiger Moth

Unexpected Cycnia Caterpillar

Cycnia Inopinatus – larva/pupa/adult, 2 of 2
Location: Naperville, IL
August 22, 2011 12:40 pm
Dear Daniel~
Here are the three adult photos of the cycnia inopinatus (unexpected tiger moth) that eclosed this morning. The second photo shows his (?) antennae, which were previously tucked under the body. It flew away before I could get a better side view! Best regards,
Signature: Dori Eldridge

unexpected cycnia cocoon dori 300x223 Unexpected Cycnia: Metamorphosis of a Tiger Moth

Unexpected Cycnia Cocoon

Hi Dori,
Thank you so much for providing our website with such a thorough documentation of the metamorphosis of the Unexpected Cycnia, Cycnia inopinatus, a new species of Tiger Moth for our website.  We are most intrigued with the number of creatures that depend upon milkweed for survival.  Readers who want additional information can see the postings for this species on BugGuide.

unexpected cycnia moth dori 300x212 Unexpected Cycnia: Metamorphosis of a Tiger Moth

Unexpected Cycnia Moth

Posted 23 August 2011 § Tiger Moths and Arctiids § Woolly Bears ‡ Comments (2) ° Tagged: ,
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Unicorn Caterpillar

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 bert 300x192 Unicorn Caterpillar

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 § Prominent Moth Caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °

Spun Glass Slug Moth Caterpillar

Beautiful Caterpillar
Location: North Carolina, USA
August 21, 2011 1:44 am
My two sons and I found this beautiful caterpillar last night. We like to find and photograph strange insects at night. I have tried to identify it with no luck. We hope you can help. We would love to see it on your great site. Thanks for any help you can offer.
Signature: Rick Thompson

spun glass slug moth cat rick 300x206 Spun Glass Slug Moth Caterpillar

Spun Glass Slug Moth Caterpillar

Hi Rick,
The Spun Glass Slug Moth Caterpillar, Isochaetes beutenmuelleri, also known by the ponderous common name Beutenmueller’s Slug Moth, is listed on BugGuide as being “uncommon” and it is also indicated that it feeds on “swamp oak.”  Many Caterpillars in the Slug Moth family Limacodidae have stinging hairs and spines and they should be handled with extreme caution.

Posted 21 August 2011 § Stinging Slug Caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

American Dagger Moth Caterpillar

tussock moth caterpillar
Location: Ellicott City, MD
August 16, 2011 8:34 pm
I have determined that this is a tussock moth caterpillar, but I am unable to narrow it down further. Pale? Yellow-based? I can’t tell for sure from the pictures I’ve seen. Can you make a precise determination?
Signature: George

american dagger moth caterpillar george 300x211 American Dagger Moth Caterpillar

American Dagger Moth Caterpillar

Hi George,
Your yellow caterpillar with a few tufts of black hairs is not a Tussock Moth Caterpillar, but rather, it is an American Dagger Moth Caterpillar, Acronicta americana, one of the Owlet Moths.  You can verify our identification on Bugguide where it is indicated:  “The caterpillar’s hairs can cause skin irritation.”  You letter is the last we will be able to post this morning because of personal reasons.

Posted 17 August 2011 § Cutworms and Owlet Caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °

White Marked Tussock Moth Caterpillar

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

tussock cat john 300x206 White Marked Tussock Moth Caterpillar

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

Posted 16 August 2011 § Tussock Moth Caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °

Bedstraw Hawkmoth Caterpillar from Alaska

Whaterpiller?
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska
August 13, 2011 5:03 pm
Ok I live in fairbanks Alaska it’s almost fall/our winter so you don’t really see all that many bugs around. But we found this guy he’s about 3in long brown with yellow spots and a spine tail thing and his head was the little thing.
Signature: ~Tif

bedstraw hawkmoth cat alaska tif 300x166 Bedstraw Hawkmoth Caterpillar from Alaska

Bedstraw Hawkmoth Caterpillar

Hi Tif,
Your caterpillar is a Hornworm, the common name given to the caterpillars of the Hawkmoths or Sphinx Moths in the family Sphingidae.  Hornworm is a reference to the caudal horn which most all members of the family possess.  When we are trying to identify New World Sphingiids, we generally turn to the easily searchable Sphingidae of the Americas Website where you can search by country and state.  There are only five species reported in Alaska, which makes the search quite simple.  This is the Bedstraw Hawkmoth Caterpillar, Hyles gallii, and the Sphingidae of the Americas site indicates:  “Hyles gallii ranges coast to coast in Canada (into the Yukon) and southward along the Rocky Mountains into Mexico. It is also widely distributed throughout Europe and Asia.”  One might think that with only five species of Sphinx Moths in Alaska, identification of this caterpillar would be easy, but the identification is complicated by the variations in color among caterpillars, including a green variation and a black morph.  You can see a photo of the adult Bedstraw Hawkmoth from our archives.

Posted 14 August 2011 § Hornworms ‡ Comments (2) °

Datana Caterpillar

Can u help id
August 11, 2011 3:18 PM (13 hours ago)
Any idea what these are?
Thanks
Kim Carlen

datana cats kim 300x227 Datana Caterpillar

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.”

Posted 13 August 2011 § Prominent Moth Caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °

Hickory Horned Devil

crazy creature?
Location: ohio, united states
August 12, 2011 9:12 am
can you tell me what kind of creature this is? we found it at work the other day, and maybe what it eats?? thanks.
Signature: christy

hickory horned devil christy 300x205 Hickory Horned Devil

Hickory Horned Devil

Hi Christy,
We thought this might be an earlier instar of a Hickory Horned Devil, but according to BugGuide, it is a chocolate brown form of the typically green giant caterpillar.  We still believe your caterpillar will continue to grow and eventually turn green.  BugGuide states:  “Larvae feed on leaves of ash, burning bush, butternut, cotton, gum, hickory, lilac, pecan, persimmon, sumac, sycamore, and walnut.”

Posted 12 August 2011 § Hickory Horned Devil ‡ Comments (0) °

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