Hello –
I live in Brick, NJ which is located in the coastal region of Ocean County. I was wondering if you could ID this caterpillar. It was in my garden on 10/10/23 on an unknown dried weed that you can see in the photos. It was about 1” long. The big white thing behind it in the photos is a clam shell. I went back to look for it the following day but it was no longer there.
This garden had many different flowers in it including bee balm, goldenrods, marigolds, zinnias, false sunflower, seaside goldenrod, Montauk Daisies, Baptisia, butterfly bush, tithonia, perennial hydrangea, Little Lime Hydrangea, Autumn Joy sedum and many different types of groundcover sedums.
I tried to ID it on-line but couldn’t find it. I also contacted our local Master Gardeners but didn’t get a response.
Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated!
Jill
Dear Jill,
Thank you for your thorough letter. This is a Caterpillar in the Genus Vanessa, and we are nearly certain it is an American Lady or Hunter Butterfly, Vanessa virginiensis. Here is an image on BugGuide (https://bugguide.net/node/view/1011212/bgpage) that matches the images you submitted. According to BugGuide (https://bugguide.net/node/view/488): “Larvae feed on Cudweeds, Everlastings and Pussytoes – Gnaphalium, Anaphalis, Antennaria (all Asteraceae)” all plants normally regarded as weeds in cultivated gardens. Please consider leaving some areas of your garden unweeded and more natural to help provide food and shelter for wildlife, including butterflies.
