CLOSED: Who am I and what do I eat?

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susybell Vancouver, WA(Zone 8a) Jun 17, 2009

HI! I was found on the branch of Lonicera heckrotii 'Goldflame' pretending to be a dead twig. What's my name, and, inquiring gardener minds want to know, what do I eat? Am I a good bug or a bad bug?

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Post #6701476
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suunto Sinks Grove, WV Jun 17, 2009

This caterpillar is in the family Geometridae; several species of which are good twig mimics. I cannot put a specific name on this one, perhaps someone more familiar with this group than I am can do so.

Post #6701574
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sallyg Anne Arundel,, MD(Zone 7b) Jun 18, 2009

If you've only found one, it can't be THAT bad no matter what it eats, can it? Look at the link for some pretty adults in the group
http://davesgarden.com/guides/bf/adv_search.php?searcher[common]=&searcher[bugorder]=&searcher[family]=geometridae&searcher[genus]=&searcher[species]=&Search=Search

Post #6702930
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susybell Vancouver, WA(Zone 8a) Jun 18, 2009

I'm not particularly worried, really just interested, I guess. I hadn't ever noticed one of these before. After he was done with his "photo shoot", I put him back where I found him. Whatever he's (she's?) been eating hasn't been too noticeable. I garden organically, so I'm willing to tolerate a little munching anyhow, and this fellow is rather interesting.

Thanks for the help!

This message was edited Jun 17, 2009 9:15 PM

Post #6703890
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sallyg Anne Arundel,, MD(Zone 7b) Jun 18, 2009

I like them too. I have only found them once in a great while--and I have to wonder how the adults find each other to keep it going!

Post #6704823
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susybell Vancouver, WA(Zone 8a) Jun 18, 2009

Lol, good point-if you spend part of your life pretending you're a dead part of a plant, what kind of social life can you have??? Although that is their juvenile form, I guess. Life must be a little more exciting once they're moths.

I think I'll consider his 15 minutes of fame over (That's probably quite a lot for a proto-moth, maybe it'll make him/her a celebrity and help her get dates easily, lol) and close this thread.

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marzissa Irvine, CA Jun 19, 2009

Thanks for sharing that picture! I have started looking at this forum just to see pics of interesting bugs.

Post #6712008
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