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Unknown South African Caterpillar

Unknown caterpillar
Sat, Apr 18, 2009 at 6:40 AM
My son found this caterpillar on the grass. He was quite a compliant fellow and I placed him on a plectranthus leaf in order to get a better shot. He was quite a chunky caterpillar and when he did move about, his body extended to about 8cm. I’d love to know a bit more about him.
Tami Roos
South of Johannesburg in South Africa

caterpillar unidentified south africa tami 300x193 Unknown South African Caterpillar

Unknown Caterpillar

Dear Tami,
We did not have any luck identifying your caterpillar on the South African page of the World’s Largest Saturniidae Site. We searched there because we believe your caterpillar is in the family Saturniidae, the Giant Silk Moths. We will try to contact Bill Oehlke to see if he can identify your caterpillar.

Daniel,
I do not think it is a Saturniidae caterpillar. I have nothing that is a good match.
Thanks for thinking of me.
Bill Oehlke

Posted 20 April 2009 § moth caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Paper Wasp captures Caterpillar in Australia

aussietrev wasp foodchain pic
Thu, Apr 16, 2009 at 7:08 PM
Hi guys,
Walking along and this wasp came buzzing out from a small shrub and landed on a grass stem to finish off this caterpillar, which I think is one of the Geometridae. Taken in the Capricornia region of Queensland.
aussietrev
Qld, Australia

wasp food chain trevor australia 180x300 Paper Wasp captures Caterpillar in Australia

Paper Wasp captures Caterpillar

Hi Trevor,
We believe this is one of the social Paper Wasps, possibly Polistes tepidus, and we also believe it has captured the caterpillar to feed to larval wasps back at the nest.  The Brisbane Insect Page has photo documentation of a Polistes Paper Wasp skinning and “packaging” a large caterpillar into manageable portions for travel.  It states:  “The wasp cut a large piece from the caterpillar and carefully pack it into  ball shape for easy carrying. Then she started to fly back home to feed their  larvae. We noticed that the wasp circle around over the caterpillar body a few  time before she disappear. We believed she did that to recognize the location  so that she could come back after deliver the meal.”  Perhaps one of our readers can substantiate this.

Posted 17 April 2009 § Inchworms § Paper Wasps ‡ Comments (3) ° Tagged: ,

Death’s Head Hawkmoth Caterpillar

Yellow caterpillar in South Africa
Mon, Apr 13, 2009 at 10:43 AM
Good day,
A week ago we encountered a big yellow caterpillar in our garden and we have never seen anything like it before. We spotted it walking quite fast across a slab of slate towards a flowerpot.
It is just over 90mm in length. We picked it up and placed it in the garden underneath a bush, where it climbed onto a thin twig (see photo’s – I held a South African R2 coin next to it) and stayed there for the night and following morning. Sometime during the day it disappeared not to be seen again. Could you please help us to identify this creature?
Many thanks
Linda Pollhammer
Boksburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa

deaths head cat linda 300x153 Deaths Head Hawkmoth Caterpillar

Death's Head Hawkmoth Caterpillar

Hi Linda,
This is the Caterpillar of a Death’s Head Hawkmoth, Acherontia atropos.  The adult moth is pictured on the movie poster of the Academy Award winning Silence of the Lambs and played a role in the narrative of that film.  Regarding the d erivation of name , a ccording to the Biodiversity of South Africa website:  “The Death’s head hawk moth is so called because of the skull-like pattern on the thorax . As far as the latin name is concerned, according to Pinhey (1975) : ‘Atropos, one of the Fates, was a daughter of Nox and Erebus and was illustrated… with veiled face and a pair of scissors to cut the thread of life. This is the thoracic pattern of a mask with scissors below it. A sinister but undeserved portrait.’”  Excellent information and more photos can be found on the Sphingidae of the Western Palaearctic website.  The downward curve of the horn is distinctive in the mature caterpillar and is evident in one of your photographs.  By needs, we are presuming you want to raise the caterpillar to maturity.  Your photo of the yellow caterpillar indicates it is mature, or fifth instar and that it will soon pupate.  You should continue to feed the Death’s Head Hawkmoth Caterpillar with leaves of the plant on which it was found, and provide it with several inches of loose soil, not too moist and not too dry.  The caterpillar will dig into the dirt to pupate.  When its metamorphosis is nearly complete, the pupa will wriggle to the surface, the skin will split, and an adult moth or imago will emerge.

Posted 13 April 2009 § Hornworms ‡ Comments (2) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Swallowtail Caterpillar, but which one??? Answer: Two Tailed Swallowtail

Awaiting Papilio rutulus or Papilio multicaudata?
Sat, Apr 11, 2009 at 7:14 PM
I tried sending these through the website but it kept failing. Hope this is OK.
We here in Montana have been long awaiting the arrival of some overwintering Papilio/Swallowtails in our garage. Try as we might, we have not been able to determine if our caterpillars were Two-tailed or Western Tiger Swallowtails. The difference will determine if they should emerge in late May or late June (around here.) We have been waiting so patiently, it would be such a shame for us to mess up the timing now. (The garage stays so cold we will probably have to move them to get them to emerge.) We have some great photos of several different caterpillar stages as well as the pupae. Attached are a few. These caterpillars fed on chokecherry leaves in late summer (found them August 20th) and pupated mid-September. The early instars were green and had a bird (swallow?) like pattern across their backs.

papilio cat montana 300x184 Swallowtail Caterpillar, but which one??? Answer: Two Tailed Swallowtail

Swallowtail Caterpillar

As they grew, the bird pattern faded. When they reached about two inches in length they turned brown, stopped eating and became very active. Then they hung themselves horizontally from a piece of silk (appearantly called a girdle) which you can see in the photo. Then they pupated and we have been waiting ever since. We are very excited that spring is approaching here in Big Sky, Montana (although we still have quite a while to wait.) We will send photos of the adults when they emerge. It will be interesting to see which species of swallowtail they are; it is also possible they are Canadian Swallowtails. Also, we wonder if it is possible to determine the gender? Thanks for listening.
Bigskybugkids

papilio cat montana 2 300x228 Swallowtail Caterpillar, but which one??? Answer: Two Tailed Swallowtail

Swallowtail Caterpillar

Dear Bigskybugkids,
This presents an interesting identification challenge. There is an image on BugGuide of a Canadian Swallowtail Caterpillar, Papilio canadensis, that illustrates the “swallow-like” markings, but it also has distinctive horns at the end of the abdominal section. Cherry is listed as a larval food on BugGuide as well. Chokecherry is specifically listed as a larval food of the Two Tailed Swallowtail Caterpillar, Papilio multicaudata, on BugGuide. With regards to the Western Tiger Swallowtail Caterpillar, BugGuide indicates: “Larvae very similar to those of Pale Tiger Swallowtail, but black pupil of false eye-spot larger, and yellow spot inside eyespot entirely separated from it, not just notched.” Those two characteristics are present in your specimen, but neither cherry nor chokecherry are listed as food plants for the larvae. The images of the Two Tailed Swallowtail Caterpillars on BugGuide show a similar pupil-less eyespot and separated yellow spot, virtually identical to the Western Tiger Swallowtail. Based on the eyespot match and the food plant match, we would suspect the Two Tailed Swallowtail to be the frontrunner. Guess the adult images will have to be the final determination. We suspect DNA may be required to determine the sex of a caterpillar.

papilio chrysalis montana 300x201 Swallowtail Caterpillar, but which one??? Answer: Two Tailed Swallowtail

Swallowtail Chrysalis

Update:
Awaiting Papilio rutulus or Papilio multicaudata?)
Fri, Jun 12, 2009 at 3:42 PM
After a refreshing 10 month nap…the swallowtails have emerged. It looks like they are Two-Tailed: you were so right. The tell-tale (tail icon smile Swallowtail Caterpillar, but which one??? Answer: Two Tailed Swallowtail ) sign was the _/*thinly*/_ ringed blue/green spot inside the yellow eye spots…the Western looks almost the same but the ring is thicker. Thanks again…and, no, we still can’t tell the boy butterflies from the girls.
(ed. note: We believe this would be from Montana)

twotailed swallowtail emily 300x217 Swallowtail Caterpillar, but which one??? Answer: Two Tailed Swallowtail

Two Tailed Swallowtail

Dear bigskybugkids,
Thanks so much for sending us the photos of your newly emerged Two Tailed Swallowtails. We will be posting them today as their own posting as well as an update to the caterpillar photos you sent in April.

twotailed swallowtail emily 2 300x240 Swallowtail Caterpillar, but which one??? Answer: Two Tailed Swallowtail

Two Tailed Swallowtail

2

Posted 12 April 2009 § swallowtail caterpillars § swallowtails ‡ Comments (0) °

Morpho Caterpillar Aggregation from Brazil

Possible Blue Morpho aggregate?
Thu, Apr 2, 2009 at 7:03 AM
We saw this caterpillar aggregate in the tropics in Brazil, we think it may be the Blue Morpho butterfly
Bill and Linda in Tustin
Brazil, in tropical forest

caterpillar aggregation brazil 300x291 Morpho Caterpillar Aggregation from Brazil

Unknown Caterpillar Aggregation

Hi Bill and Linda,
We aren’t sure what these phenomenal caterpillars are. They might be Morpho Caterpillars that are supposed to form aggregations. They look somewhat like a Morpho Caterpillar image we located, but not enough to say it is a match. Perhaps one of our readers can enlighten us as to the species, or family of these beauties.

Update: Mon, Apr 6, 2009 at 7:09 PM
Hello Bill and Linda,
These caterpillars, with their distinctive reddish coloration and intricate patterning, compare quite favorably with those of *Morpho telemachus* (sorry, no common name). Here are Internet photos from Mato Grosso, Brazil, and Manu, Peru:
http://k41.pbase.com/o6/69/756269/1/84768266.oLXDJgBO.morphorupsen2.JPG
http://www.papiliophotos.com/SearchImages/P-MOT357-2.jpg
Since we know little about this species’ larval range of individual variation, it’s also possible that your caterpillars may be of a very close relative, namely *Morpho cisseis* or (less likely) *Morpho hecuba* — both of which are lacking information on their immature stages. Please tell me: Where in Brazil did you photograph these larvae? Do you recall their size or approximate length? Thanks very much!
Best wishes,
Keith Wolfe

Update: Tue, Apr 7, 2009 at 6:42 PM
Hi Daniel,
Re: http://www.whatsthatbug.com/category/caterpillars-and-pupa/
I sure wish I knew why your website corrupts links by arbitrarily adding end-of-line spaces, as happened yet again with:
http://k41.pbase.com/o6/69/756269/1/84768266.oLXDJgBO.morphorupsen2.JPG
^ ^
I truly hate to keep bugging (pun intended) you with these snafus, so please let me know what I’m doing “wrong”. Thanks very much and best wishes!
Cheers,
Keith

Hi Keith,
Thanks for the followup “glitch” report. We know that we cannot just cut and paste from the email service to the website as web links do not make a smooth transition. It adds time to our posting, but we actually need to visit the site by clicking the link in the email and then pasting the url from the address bar when we are on the site, replacing the link information in the email. We then create a new link with that information. We did not do that with the link you have indicated because we were denied access. We suspect the site is either a pay site or one that requires previous registration. Since we were unable to visit the site directly, we did not eliminate the spaces in the URL. That is now corrected, but we are still unable to visit the site. Thanks for your diligence.
Daniel

Update: Thu, Apr 9, 2009 at 6:33 PM
Muchas gracias, Daniel, for your time and effort!  I don’t know why linking through the WTB site is “Forbidden”, when I have no such difficulty (never registered or paid anything), but in any case, attached is the picture in question.  Please feel free to post or ignore as you see appropriate.
Much obliged,
Keith
PS Just for the heck of it, try accessing the photo through your Gmail account (versus WTB server): http://k41.pbase.com/o6/69/756269/1/84768266.oLXDJgBO.morphorupsen2.JPG .

Thanks Keith,
That also came up forbidden, but when we googled Morpho telemachus Bosch, the name of the caterpillar and the surname of the photographer of the photo you attached, we were led to the image online.  We are posting a link to the image by Johan van ‘t Bosch of the Netherlands that you identified on a forum for Tropical Butterflies.

Posted 03 April 2009 § butterfly caterpillars ‡ Comments (4) °

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 eats cat costarica 300x212 Basilisk Lizard eats Silk Moth Caterpillar in Costa Rica

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 § Reptiles § Silkworms ‡ 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 alanna 183x300 Bagworm and Giant Silk Moth Cocoon

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.

silkmoth cocoon alanna 209x300 Bagworm and Giant Silk Moth Cocoon

Polyphemus or Luna Cocoon???

Posted 14 March 2009 § Bagworm § Silkworms ‡ 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 cat amazon 300x265 Stinging Caterpillar from the Amazon: Automeris species???

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 § Silkworms ‡ Comments (0) °

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