Subject: Big caterpillar – black with orange
Location: SW Austin TX
May 5, 2014 5:14 am
Found this big guy on our front porch in Austin. Fuzzy and almost 2″ in length. Thought he might be an asp but doesn’t match images I could find. I know you’ll know right away. Thank you!
Signature: Dana
Giant Leopard Moth Caterpillar
Hi Dana,
This is definitely NOT and Asp. This is a Woolly Bear, a caterpillar of a Tiger Moth in the subfamily Arctiinae. We believe it is the Caterpillar of a Giant Leopard Moth, Hypercompe scribonia, and you can compare you individual to the images posted to BugGuide.
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Location: Austin, Texas
Thank you ever so much. What a great website!!
You are most welcome.
Hi, we found a similar caterpillar about 2-3 weeks ago. Except he doesn’t have the orange bands inbetween his rows of spikes. Could it be the same kind? He has eaten some dandelions and clover and slices of apple, but has not made a cocoon in all this time and has been at the top of our butterfly home for days now without moving. We would love to see him change, any ideas?
Thanks so much!
Rachael
Hi Rachael,
It sounds like you most likely found another Woolly Bear, the caterpillar of a Tiger Moth in the subfamily Arctiinae.
My little rat terrier just found one of these on my patio, which I rescued in time because she didn’t like the spikes, I guess. It’s now in a large home that used to contain “cheese puffs” with an assortment of dandelions, plantain, and a lilac bush branch. Sure hope we keep him alive, so grandkids can be witness to the miraculous changes! We live in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Are they toxic to touch
No