I have no idea what I'm looking at. It's on a zinnia and looks like a tiny caterpillar, but has things all over the sides of it. I can't tell if the things are part of the thing or something attacking it. I'm just clueless.
What is this?!
pic 2 ... that thing to the left of it is a milkweed seed, so you can kind of tell how small it is.
This message was edited Aug 21, 2005 9:45 PM
knokreteblonde, I think that this might be a little caterpillar that's sort of like a trash bug. In other words, the caterpillar sticks things on itself for camouflage - in this case flower petals.
Go here to see a few different species... http://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/Files/Live/Living34a.shtml .
Scroll down to #7058 - but be aware that if you have dial-up, these plates take a few minutes to come up. You'll also see some pictures of the rather pretty emerald colored moths that these caterpillars turn into. I have some of these myself on my black-eyed susans and I got three different species of these pretty green moths to take pictures of at my lights this year. Scroll down to #7071 and you'll see one of those moths - one of my pictures is among that group.
Thanks NB! I looked around last night at pics online because I knew I had seen a pic of this before. It was either that or something I saw in an aquarium. lol That little green moth is one of the first things I saw when I started gardening. I was so impressed by it's color and stripes. I'm glad to know they are still in my garden!
I finally found something that looked very similar in David L. Wagner's book "Caterpillars of Eastern North America" - it's a moth called the Camouflaged Looper "Wavy-Lined Emerald" (synchlora aerata). Can't say I've ever seen a green moth around here...but stranger things have happened.
This one seems to be predominately a mauvish purple in color with white lines...and not the brown, black and white described in the book.
Time will tell what it turns into :o)
~ Cat
You would really have to be paying attention to the moths to see this little green one. The one I saw got caught inside one night and then the next day I found it and saw it's colors. I would have never known it otherwise. It was very small, maybe like a dime.
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