Subject: Fuzzy Wuzzy Friend
Geographic location of the bug: Holly Springs, MS
Date: 09/27/2019
Time: 10:01 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Hi again Daniel!
A previous Bug Queen here. I have a new friend I have since freed to the yard. Would you please be so kind as to identify my fuzzy wuzzy pal?
How you want your letter signed: Your biggest fan, Stephanie
Dear Stephanie,
This looks like a Banded Tussock Moth Caterpillar, Halysidota tessellaris, to us, and though it is a variably colored caterpillar, it does match the individual in this BugGuide image. According to BugGuide: “Larvae feed on leaves of alder, ash, birch, elm, hazel, hickory, oak, poplar, tulip tree, walnut, willow.”