CLOSED: What lovely creatures might these become?

Terry Murfreesboro, TN(Zone 7a) Aug 05, 2004

These caterpillars have taken over a branch or two of a small Nuttall Oak. Before I destroy them, any guesses as to what they are (and if they are basically harmless loiterers?

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kennedyh Churchill, Victoria, Australia(Zone 10a) Aug 05, 2004

Could be young caterpillars of the Yellownecked Caterpillar, Datana ministra http://www.ag.auburn.edu/dept/entplp/bulletins/leafeatingcaterpillars/photo1.htm which becomes the moth shown in this site
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/dp_hfrr/extensn/POW/2001/September_5.htm

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Terry Murfreesboro, TN(Zone 7a) Aug 06, 2004

Thanks - the second link indicates their defoliation damage is minimal, so maybe I'll let 'em stay ;o) They are weird little critters - if you blow on them, they all "rear up" on their back legs...

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judyb Phoenix, AZ(Zone 9a) Aug 06, 2004

A show I saw on HGTV mentioned this kind of behavior. It's to make them look like one large organism when they all do that behavior. To keep birdies from thinking they are big enough to eat that 'huge' animal.

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kennedyh Churchill, Victoria, Australia(Zone 10a) Aug 06, 2004

This behaviour is common among sawfly larvae. And my first thought was that these were sawflies. It was by searching for Sawfly and Oak on the net that I found a site on caterpillars that feed on trees and shrubs, http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/O&T/shrubs/note07/note07.html which includes several sawflies as well as caterpillars like these. Checking further the species that mentioned oak led me to your caterpillars.

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