This first one I think is a white lined sphinx moth, but I'm not positive. It was eating pink native oenothera.
2 cats for ID
I think this one is some kind of tiger moth. It has little yellowish dots along the side and the bottom row of hairs are brownish. It was eating Mexican flame vine.
I think you are right about the first one as a White-lined Sphinx Moth ( Hyles lineata). Your picture matches this one perfectly http://bugguide.net/node/view/5560/bgimage
This site http://www.silkmoths.bizland.com/hlinelin.htm shows some of the variation in White-lined Sphinx caterpillars.
The nearest I can get to the second one is that it might be the Virginian Tiger Moth (Yellow Woolly Bear) (Spilosoma virginica). The caterpillars are apparently very variable in colour and can be black: http://bugguide.net/node/view/32845/bgimage
http://bugguide.net/node/view/498/bgimage
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/2000/cateast/spilvirg.htm
Ken
Ken, you are right, thank you so much! I never would have guessed that he was a yellow wooly bear/virginian tiger moth cat.
Cala...
Do you find lots of cats on your Mexican Flame Vine? I haven't seen anything eating my lately...but last year I found an adorable tiny caterpillar that resembled a hairstreak cat...never could get an identification on it..and sad to say, the person I handed "Pinky" over to for rearing reported Pinky died. I keep checking my vines in the hopes that I will see another "Pinky" but nothing so far...
http://www.network54.com/Forum/444667/thread/1129089603/last-1129189331/Can+anyone+ID+Pinky+Cat-
~ Cat
Oh he is cute! I haven't seen anything like him, but I'll check my vines. The only cats I've seen eating it are the fuzzy ones.
I tried your "recipe" last weekend, but it was too windy, no butterflies. A red wing blackbird tried it out though.
Cat I think your cat may be a Callophrys dumetorum viridis-a Coastal Bramble Hairstreak-buckwheat host plant, or Philotes sonorensis-a Sonoran Blue-Dudleyas host plants, or Glaucopsyche lygdamus-a Silvery Blue-Vetch, peavines, and other legumes host plant