I am accustomed to seeing Gulf Fritillary caterpillars on the Passiflora edulis in my garden. This pillar looks to me like it has recently molted and I am puzzled by the horizontal band of white along the sides because generally (from my experience) this band is yellow with specks of white. I am also puzzled because this young caterpillar is not chowing down on the Passiflora edulis, but on the Turnera diffusa (which is a member of the Family Passifloraceae). The T. diffusa is on the other end of the garden than the P. edulis, which suggests to me that this pillar grew from an egg on the T. diffusa. Any ideas about if this is a Gulf Fritillary caterpillar or something else? Any ideas why it is on the T. diffusa rather than the P. edulis?
CLOSED: Gulf Fritillary caterpillar or ?
okay...here i go again, answering my own questions. but well, it's great to find an answer no matter who it is from. i have discovered that the fritillary caterpillars on the turnera diffusa are euptoieta hegesia (aka mexican fritillary). i've had the turnera diffusa for over a year, but this is the first time i've seen any kind of larval activity on it and the mexican fritillary is new to my garden so this is doubly exciting for me. i didn't purchase the turnera diffusa expecting it to be a larval host but rather because in my area it flowers year round and i had hoped the plant would be of interest from a nectar point of view...also it is a beautiful plant. i had been concerned that perhaps these caterpillars had been misplaced and that maybe i should move them to the passiflora edulis but i'm glad i didn't do that because now i discover that turnera diffusa is the natural host for these butterflies. i should know by now that the caterpillars know what they are doing even if they are really slow about it.
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