Description: Newly hatched eastern tiger swallowtail caterpillars are bird-dropping mimics. The last larval stage, seen here, has smallish eyespots that make it look like a tiny, nearsighted snake.
Ecology: Caterpillars feed on black cherry, birch, ash, willow, cottonwood, and tuliptree. Butterflies take nectar and are often found in edge habitat, especially swamp edges. Random Cool Fact: Eastern tiger swallowtails butterflies, and many other butterfly species, are often seen congregating at puddles on dirt roads. If there are no puddles, they still may gather on open dirt to regurgitate into the soil and slurp up nutrients this way.
Female moths, like the one pictured here, are wingless and therefore flightless. Males are medium-sized brown moths with a single dot on the forewing.
Ecology: One of our most ubiquitous caterpillars, the white-marked tussock could turn up on virtually any plant in the Northeast. A member of the Arctiidae family. Random Cool Fact: Some male Arctiid moths sequester pyrrolizidine alkaloids PA from plants and use them as a defense mechanism. They can then sexually transmit this protection to a female mate. One study showed that a PA-deficient female becomes unpalatable to spiders almost immediately after copulation and that this unpalatability endures throughout her life.
Description: Green caterpillar can be distinguished from other grass skippers by the whitish lines that run the length of the body. Tiny orange butterflies are found in orchards and unmowed hay fields. Ecology: European skippers overwinter as eggs. Caterpillars are private, feeding at night and sleeping through the day in silken leaf shelters. Butterfly is one of the most common in the Northeast.
Description: The woolly bear is a fuzzy, orange and black caterpillar that becomes a dull, yellow to orange moth with a fat, furry thorax and a small head. Ecology: One of our most familiar caterpillars, woolly bears are renowned wanderers. They hatch from eggs in fall and are often seen crossing roads, a strange fact, considering they eat almost everything. Look for them overwintering in your wood pile. In spring, they gorge themselves, then molt into Isabella tiger moths. Ecology: Caterpillars feed on hawthorn, honeysuckle, snowberry, and viburnum.
Moths like phlox, buddleia, and deep-throated flowers. As a teenager, he was a member of the entomological club at the American Museum of Natural History. This summer I was able to raise and set free 16 Monarchs. I am still waiting on 8 more cocoons to become butterflies and one more caterpillar.
Down to the wire for the trip south! We have these weird caterpillars eating our blueberry bushes-they are a light chocolate brown with a green section with a spike below the head. Does anyone know what they are? I am in eastern MA. I am so lucky to have found your site! I found the cutest Eastern Tiger Swallowtail caterpillar on top of my backpack while rock-climbing up in Rumney, New Hampshire. I put it one a safe place. Finally, I was able to find out all about it today! Thank you!!
Thank you so much for this article which contains pertinent information for each insect covered. I was able to identify the caterpillars that were munching away on my kitchen window sill parsley plants as Black Swallowtail. I had just purchased the them 2 weeks previously and never thought to look for butterfly eggs.
Also, some years ago in my urban Monarch Way Station garden, I observed an amazing-looking moth with transparent wings basking on the stepping stone next to my Buddelia. I live near Glen Rose TX. I do not know how to attach picture here.
I appreciate your website in helping me identify. Monarch caterpillar is not there, it was too little to go to chrysalis.
Queen butterflies will also use milkweed as hosts. I need to plant more milkweed, my plants have been bare of leaves and blooms for all the caterpillar activity!
Will it be ok to let it out tomorrow and hope it gets somewhere warmer by tomorrow evening? I live in Kentucky and I see the ttussock moth caterpillar all of the time they are everywhere at my house. It was a plain blonde fuzzy caterpillar — definatly not a tussock moth — and it was just one individual. I would like to attach an image if you reply to my email.
I live in Wisconsin and just found more than a dozen Tussock Moth on my milkweed. Several if them all feeding on the same leaf. Beautiful, but definitely a surprise. A fellow master gardener and Entomology specialist had the orange and black Tussock moth caterpillars on her milkweed recently.
She said they were so numerous the milkweed looked black all over! She saved me a few of the cats to raise, and some have already made a cocoon, some are still eating.
They are pretty, and although I have only handled them a brief once or twice, no stinging or numbness occurred. It will be fun to see the moths.
Our Ento. I recently had the pleasure of raising a number of Polyphemus moth cats and some IO moth cats. The IO moth cats have lots of stinging points on them, and I only got stung in a couple of spots on a couple of knuckles while I was caring for them.
I put ice on it, and it did not last long. Many many butterflies down there including some that come across the Rio Grande River into the South Texas region, so we always come away from our trip with more to add to our life list of butterflies……lots of birds too. Sorry this is so long MM……….
Unfortunately the Ntl. Center is looking for backers who can donate to their fight over the planned addition of more miles blocking access to our side for the native animals that have lived down there for so very long.
It is scheduled to run three miles through the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge in Pharr, which will possibly cause the Refuge to close due to the amount of land it takes and all the equipment and supplies to build the fence. The Refuge opened in , and as I was born and raised in that part of Texas, it makes me want to cry over the lack of care our leaders have over the natural environment of our country!
Yes, very aware of the situation on the border. Just wrote about it here. Thanks for letting me vent about the fence situation down in the Valley MM.
Write to the President, your senators and congress members, and express yourself to your friends and neighbors to help more people get involved. Pray about it in your daily life. Thank the Lord for supporting our efforts regarding this matter. I do not think fences make for good neighbors! Thanks for your comments. I have found a little caterpillar on my milkweed I have not been able to identify.
Any ideas? Hi, can anyone identify this little caterpillar? I moved it next door to a coneflower, but he came right back to the milkweed.
I wanted to see how badly he wanted the milkweed. I was hoping to see some monarch caterpillars this year and was very excited to see that my milkweed plant had been stripped…but what I found under a bottom leaf was not what I expected!
A large bottom leaf was covered in Tussock moth caterpillars! Thank you for your website to help identify them. Lisa in Columbia, Missouri. I am in Cincinnati OH and raised 35 monarchs this year, so I am surprised I have yet to see a milkweed tussock moth caterpillar. Maybe next year! I found a larva on my milkweed — definitely not a monarch, I raise them.
This one was very small, maybe a third of an inch total, nondescript color, shaped with a little bit of a flare around the head, and when I tried to move it, it reared up at me as if to threaten me and writhed a lot more than the monarchs do.
I took a pic if you would like to see and help me confirm? This year I have seen the caterpillars. Tussock moth caterpillars feasting on my milkweed. Central NJ. Cute little things but not the monarchs I wanted.
No Monarchs though. Thanks for info on cycnia. My monarch caterpillars kept disappearing, so bringing them in next year. Od share pic, but see no way to do that. PS…have furry white caterpillars eating milkweed also. Western Wi area. Creepy creatures!! I live in Kennebunk, Maine and I have the Tussock caterpillars all over the milk weed growing around my house.
According to Wagner, the species occurs in Texas and the Southwest. This statement, from my observations, needs to be revised because I live more than miles northeast of Texas. We have found three catapillars on the milkweed that are not Monarchs. They have stripes like the Monarch, but the bottom of them are orange. They do curl up into a circle when disturbed. We are wondering what do they grow up into, as we have not found any information on these. This site is wonderful, I now know it is the Tuscan moth caterpillars, skeletiz my many milkweed around our yard in Worcester County, Massachusetts.
Hoped for Monarch butterflys, but I say the greedy Tuscany spoil Monarchs chances, may be reason for decline in numbers. Caught picture at night, masses of them. Gillian, Warren MA. While looking at the monarch caterpillars i saw a milkweed leaf half Covered with I think Tussuck.
I live in northern Vermont and do not recall seeing it before. I was really surprised to find 5 to 6 Tussock moth eating away on my milkweed. Man they are suppose to be in Southern states. I think they got lost. Have let lots of milkweed grow over the years in central Vermont and get a crop of tussock caterpillars every Fall.
We live between Georgetown and Florence. I live in north central Kentucky Meade county , Just west of Louisville. I bought an Asclepias Incarnata plant last spring. It has what I am pretty sure are Cyncia moth larvae on it.
Not sure if it is a significant find, but allows for documentation. I found a black caterpillar It looked like the second picture on the top of the website, what type is it? I have at least 40 milkweed plants in various places on our 94 acres in the Missouri Ozarks, and this year I have only seen 1 Monarch butterfly.
In years past there have been lots of them, although not so much last year. There used to be so many I raised some of the caterpillars in my butterfly box. Sure miss them. This morning I saw so many Tussock Moth caterpillars on one stem of the milkweed that they had stripped at least 4 of the bottom leaves, leaving them looking like lace. There were probably 30 or more of the Tussock Moths caterpillars, and they were still very small.
I also have butterfly bush, butterfly weed, tall Garden Phlox, etc for the bees and butterflies. Sure miss the Monarchs. We have over 60 plants. This time last year I was releasing by the dozens. I decided to leave them alone — bad idea. They stripped all of my swamp milkweed in 2 days.
So I had to squish them. A few more found the common milkweed — squish. Tussock moth caterpillars denude trees and bushes as well as milkweed. One of the most striking hairy caterpillars you are likely to spot is the European gypsy caterpillar. The Silver-Spotted Tiger caterpillar has black and orange furry appearance. One black and orange fuzzy type of caterpillar is the Silver-Spotted Tiger species Lophocampa argentata.
This mildly-toxic variety of caterpillar has a hairy appearance resembling the stripes of a tiger. Usually, this type of caterpillar is found on fir trees on the West coast of North America including California, Nevada, Colorado, and Arizona.
The identifying features of the silver-spotted tiger caterpillar are its tufts of orange and yellow spines covering its black body. The Emperor caterpillar has yellow and black dots on its large green body. The emperor moth caterpillar is a large green crawling insect with small yellowish spiky growths tubercles around its segments.
The dark green caterpillars grow up to 2. Emperor moth larvae can be hard to recognize during their growth stages instars. However, some species of emperor moth caterpillars stay dark, almost black with yellow dots on the bodies. To identify the emperor moth caterpillar, look for a dark green caterpillar with bands of yellow spiny bumps around each segment. The green tiger swallowtail caterpillar has eye-like markings on its head.
The tiger swallowtail caterpillar is an unusual green caterpillar due to its eye-like spots on its head. Some characteristics of the swallowtail caterpillar are a yellow band behind its head, fake eyes, a smooth green body, and four pairs of stumpy prolegs.
The caterpillar grows up to 2. A defensive feature of the tiger swallowtail is that it releases a putrid odor when threatened. The dark-green tiger swallowtail caterpillar is easy to identify due to its smooth green body and recognizable fake eyes on its head.
The large Luna caterpillar has green ridged body with red dots. The luna moth caterpillar is a sizeable green larva with an almost translucent body with rows of red spiny bumps.
Some recognizable features of the luna moth caterpillar are its oval brown head, three pair of front legs, spiny red dots, and four pairs of large prolegs. When it reaches maturity, the luna moth caterpillar grows to around 3. You can spot this large caterpillar feeding on birch, hickory, walnut, and alder tree leaves. The luna moth caterpillar is identified by its bright green body that appears translucent. There are also two rows of orange dots along its back and a row of orange dots along each side.
The fuzzy garden tiger moth caterpillar has black, orange and gray hair-like spines. The garden tiger caterpillar is a furry black and orange caterpillar with long feathery spines that make the grub look like a porcupine. The garden tiger has a black body, and its fuzzy spines are a grayish-white, black, or orange color. The garden tiger caterpillar is a type of woolly bear caterpillar. The furry caterpillar grows up to 2. Its long whitish spines and fuzzy body help protect the larva against predators.
To identify the garden tiger caterpillar, look for its orange and black fuzzy body with tufts of long white spines covering its back. The green Cabbage White Butterfly Caterpillar is commonly found on cruciferous vegetables. The long, thin, green cabbage white caterpillar has an identifiable yellowish-green body and a slightly fuzzy appearance. As its name suggests, this caterpillar species gorges on cabbage leaves as it grows to maturity.
Due to its voracious appetite, the green caterpillar is a significant garden pest. The white cabbage caterpillar grows up to 1. Unlike many other types of green caterpillar, this green larval insect has a slender body without noticeable segments.
The cabbage white caterpillar is a green caterpillar with an identifiable yellowish shine on its fuzzy body. The scarce dagger caterpillar is a furry black caterpillar with recognizable tufts of orange and yellow hairs. The scarce dagger caterpillar measures 1. Depending on the instar, the scarce dagger caterpillar looks like a fuzzy orange or a black caterpillar with orange hairs and bright white or yellow dots. The scarce dagger caterpillar has an identifiable black body covered in orange bumps and tufts of orange hairs.
The spiky black mourning cloak caterpillar has orange-red markings and tiny white dots on its body. Also called the spiny elm caterpillar, the mourning cloak larvae is a black caterpillar with orange tufts, tiny white dots, and menacing-looking fleshy black spines. Although the black caterpillar looks like it stings, it is entirely harmless. To spot mourning cloak caterpillars, look for the spiny black larvae feeding on cottonwood, aspen, hackberry, and birch trees.
As the common name suggests, Nymphalis antiopa is often found eating its way through elm tree leaves. The black mourning cloak caterpillar is identified by its bands of sharp-looking spikes around its body and eight dark orange tufts of short hairs along its back. The Azalea Caterpillar has a stripy green and black body with orange head and tail. The azalea caterpillar is a black and yellow or green striped caterpillar with a large, rounded orange or rusty brown head.
The several yellowish-green stripes on the caterpillar run longitudinally. As the long stripy worm-like insect grows, long white spines and orangey-red feet develop as it matures. The hungry caterpillars can quickly skeletonize leaves, and you can see them feeding on azaleas, rhododendrons, and blueberries.
You can identify the azalea caterpillar by its shiny black body, bright yellow or green stripes running the length of its body, and a recognizable orange head. The yellow-spotted tussock caterpillar has a distinctive look with its yellow and black hairs. The yellow-spotted tussock caterpillar is a fuzzy yellow and black caterpillar covered in spines, making it look like a bottle brush.
The characteristics of this small caterpillar are a furry black tail and head, a yellow central band, and four black dots on its back.
You can spot this yellow tussock caterpillar feeding on oak, willow, maple, and poplar tree leaves. The yellow-spotted tussock caterpillar is identified by a yellow and black fuzzy body, long pencil-thin spiky hairs, and black spots on a yellow back. The black and yellow striped zebra caterpillar can be identified by its reddish-brown head. The stunning zebra caterpillar has a black body with zebra-like yellow patterns running lengthwise in four stripes. The hungry grubs have a rounded orange-bronze head and tail end.
Immature larvae are primarily white with black heads. By the last stage, the caterpillars turn into colorful insects with interesting striped patterns. Zebra caterpillars grow up to 1.
My caterpillar is brown with a little bit of white. Do you know what type it is? They all have a brown color with possibly white mixed in. Not Helpful 14 Helpful I have a green caterpillar with a horn on its rear, what kind of caterpillar is it? If the horn on its behind is red, it's most likely a tomato hookworm. Not Helpful 17 Helpful Look at their patterns or color. If you can't really tell or you are colorblind, ask a friend nearby to take a closer look at it.
Not Helpful 11 Helpful My caterpillar has a blue body with a white stripe down the middle and black on both sides, what is it? It is possible this may be an Eastern tent caterpillar. But without actually seeing it, it's impossible to be certain. Not Helpful 7 Helpful 9. What type of caterpillar is that, and is it poisonous?
Most caterpillars change colour when growing. And also yes, it poisonous, always assume that about a caterpillar. Not Helpful 1 Helpful 2. Caterpillars near me are black or dark brown with red. Its furry. I am in Western Australia. What kind of caterpillar could it be? Kelly Ye. It might be the woolly bear caterpillar because it is black and furry. It has a furry thorax and a small head. Check with online images.
Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. Some caterpillars are poisonous to humans. Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0. Related wikiHows How to. How to. More References 2.
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