caterpillar ID
Location: MEXICO, YUCATAN, Chichén Itzá
November 7, 2011 8:36 am
Hi bugman, a friend who is staying in the Yucatan, Mexico sent me a picture of a caterpillar he would like IDed for his weekly newsletter, I’ve searched everywhere I can think of for an ID, including your website, but haven’t been able to find not even a clue. He says: ”It’s a hornworm but its horn is just a stub. I suspect it’s been bitten off by something and once was a regular hornworm horn.”
I hope you can help!
Thanks for any you help you can provide!
Signature: Bea
Dear Bea,
We disagree that this is a Hornworm. It looks to us like an Owlet Moth Caterpillar in the family Noctuidae and it has markings similar to species in the genus Cucullia known as the Hooded Owlet Moths, many of which are very brightly colored. See BugGuide for some North American examples.