Large Green Catapillar
Mon, Oct 13, 2008 at 5:29 PM
Hi, once again, I took this picture of this catapillar in September, and of all the catapillars that I have watched I have never seen one of these before, It is eating a pine tree. It was about 4 inches long and as you can see in the picture it is green and yellow and hairy, and it seems to have little hands that it is holding the pine needle with, while chewing on them, Is this a catapillar or some type of larvae? Is it dangerous? I have grandchildren that love to hold bugs. Thanks for any information.
Lisa Benningfield
Eastern Kentucky, USA
Hi Lisa,
Your photo of an Imperial Moth Caterpillar is quite beautiful. The Imperial Moth Caterpillar feeds on a wide range of trees, and it is the only caterpillar we can think of that eats deciduous as well as coniferous trees. The adult is a large beautiful yellow and maroon moth.
Is it strange to find one of these in Lancaster, Pa
Lancaster is well within the range of the Imperial Moth.
We just found one of these in our yard under our maple tree in Charlotte, NC. Such an amazing creature that God created!
we just found one of these beautiful caterpillars in our back yard here in Winston-Salem,NC.