Found three of these cats on my snapdragons today, but I can't find what or who they belong to. Anyone know? It wasn't a great picture, because it was pretty windy, and hard to get anything to stay still.
Cat ID??
PiggyPoo,
The Common Buckeye (junonia coenia) uses snapdragon as a larval host. That sort of looks like one...but I really can't tell - my eyesight is bad tonight.
~ Cat
that's what i came up with, too...but looking at several pictures of the buckeye cat, it doesn't look a thing like the ones in my yard :(
PiggyPoo, I came over here to see if you had posted this pic and what kind of answers you got. The only thing I know of too that eat Snapdragons are Buckeye's but I can't find a pic that looks like that. But, it might be an early stage that just looks different. Black Swallowtail's look totally different in their later instars than their first.
Buckeye's aren't very big tho so if this is what they are the cats would be fairly small. Smaller than the BST's or Monarchs. I can't really judge from this picture.
I have some snapdragons that are doing very well now so I'm going to go out tomorrow and hope to find some cats on mine! I love Buckeye's!
...I'll keep looking
thanks guys..i'll keep searching as well.
i think tomorrow i'm going to get my butterfly house set up again, and gather up some of the snapdragons and the largest cat, and...hope for a chrysalis soon. that way, we'll have an answer for sure as to what it is :)
PiggyPoo,
Do you have other photos of this cat or can you give us a description of the colors, size, skin texture etc. Does it have spines or bracts? I can't tell by the photo. I tried going through Jim Brock's book - Caterpillars in the Field and Garden but my eyes just aren't cooperating.
How does it react to being disturbed? Does it curl up into a "C" or rear it's head?
I think there's a variety of checkerspot that also uses snapdragon as a larval host...but the cat would have to be small...the one in that photo looks around 2 inches???
Maybe some kind of moth or arm worm? I found a smooth looking caterpillar munching away on my chalice vine. It changed colors as it grew then it pupated into a cocoon. I put it back out into the yard as a cocoon because I didn't want to raise a moth :o) Never did find out what that was...but it was a voracious eater.
Keep us updated...am curious as to what it is.
~ Cat
i'll try and get a better photo tomorrow. like i said, it was so windy, that it was hard to get a clear shot. and as far as your questions...i don't know what "bracts" are. it didn't look spiny, and it really didn't react in any certain way when i messed with it. it certainly didn't curl up in a "c" at all, though. can you explain to me what the reactions mean, and also what bracts are? the color was sort of a medium gray, and the spots on the sides were yellow, with black dots in it. it's head was a lighter gray, with little black dots. let me try to crop and zoom in on the picture, to make it easier to see. not sure how well i can do with it, but...what the heck, i'll give it a shot :)
here it is zoomed in on....
PiggyPoo,
Ooops...I meant to say branchs or spines. What does the head look like?
By the C shape...many army worms will drop to the ground when touched and curl up into a C shape. Others, like those categorized as loopers will walk in inch worm fashion.
Am thinking it has to be some type of moth - canker worm or army worm as it doesn't seem to have hair that fall webworms have. Moth larva eat a large variety of plant species.
I tried to find it in Brock's caterpillar book but couldn't find it. I know I have a Caterpillars of North America book that predominately shows moths but I misplaced it. Possibly if someone has that book too, they can try to find it in there.
Another book I looked through was Garden Insects of North America (by Whitney Cranshaw) - it looks similar to canker and army worms. That is an excellent garden reference book by the way.
Oh well, sorry I couldn't ID it...hopefully another reader will recognize it.
Please keep us posted...am really curious.
~ Cat
Here is a really neat catepillar ID request site that I found where you can ask "Dr. Bug" for an ID.
http://whatsthatbug.com/caterpillar_2.html
darn it!! i couldn't find the biggest cat today. my son and i looked for about an hour, off and on and the booger was hiding too well. we did find just one of the smaller cats, and i now have him detained in my cat house, so...time will tell. today, i saw a butterfly around my snapdragons, but i didn't get close enough to see really what it was. all i could see was a black butterfly, with yellow or light colored edges around the wings.
i'll keep you posted on what comes of all of this. in the mean time, i've searched through soooooo many pictures of cats online, that my brain feels creepy crawly LOL
Although I can't find your caterpillar, this is a great site for pictures of North American cats: http://www.whatsthiscaterpillar.co.uk/america/index.htm
(Yes, it's a British site, but they have a North American collection too.) They might be able to help you identify it.
oh cool..thanks a bunch. i'll sit and look through the site. see if i can find mr. mystery :)
Well? What happened to it? Has it pupated yet??
nope, nothing has happened at all. i saw the little guy in the cat house, munching away...then i didn't see him again. and then i saw a different sort of inch worm looking creature (which i hadn't put in there, by the way) and now...i don't see anybody :(
Weird...no idea where he went?? Is there any way he could have gotten out. I have had cats get out a tiny space between the lid of my cage and the side. I have NO idea how they did it but I've found them on the outside of the lid. They must just go flat! lol