I have never seen a cat like this one, I think it is really neat, do you know what it is?
It was munching on my asters.
What do I have here?
Another shot.
This one was on my flame acanthus, can you tell what it is?
This one was on our new Herculis club, but I know this one, isin't he a beauty?
Josephine - Your last photo is of a nice healthy Giant Swallowtail, correct??? :-)
The first two photos look to be a White-Lined Sphinx Moth caterpillar (hyles lineata).
~ Cat
This message was edited May 4, 2007 7:50 PM
Cat, I think you are right, and it makes sense, we see a lot of the Sphinx moths around our place bur I never saw the caterpillar, they sure are amazing.
Becky, yes it is a GST aren't they something?
Here is another picture.
Great pics Frostweed!!!
I still don't know what #3 is.
Oops...forgot all about #3...will check Wags book when I get home.
~ Cat
Okay, ya stumped me on photo #3. All I can say is moth...but which one is the million dollar question :o)
~ Cat
Cat-
when you say "Wags" book which one are you referring to? Worth it?
Josephine-How cool that you get so much "action" ! :)
~Adrienne
The White-lined Sphinx cat I had a while ago only ate oenothera foliage, Josephine. What was yours eating? And BTW, why don't you add your pic to the Bug Files for that species?
Linda , the green black and yellow one was eating on my Fall asters, and the brown one was eating Flame acanthus.
Today I found this guy eating on Snake herb, I don't know what it is either. it is very hairy.
A close up of his face.
Then this afternoon we saw a black swallow tail going over and over the Four O'clock plants, then she finally settled down and layed some eggs on the plant, so four o'clocks are a host plant, great!!!
I will be watching for the cats. Here is a picture of the eggs.
Josephine - That's very interesting! Something has been eating my Four O'Clock for the last 2 years but I never found any eggs or cats on them. Are you positive that it was a Black Swallowtail? Not some kind of skipper or moth or a different species of butterfly? (The eggs look more orange than yellow.)
I often wondered if I had Great Southern White cats on mine, but never found any cats of any kind. Was always a mystery. Ironically, my 4 O'Clocks have chew marks on them again! LOL! I guess I better try to look a little closer. I saw a Great Southern White quickly surveying my yard today, but it didn't stop.
We finally got some rain, so maybe I'll start seeing more butterflies in my yard. It was so dry and hot that I think the butterflies were hanging out somewhere else with shade. LOL! I need some more semi-shade trees in my backyard.
Asafla - by Wags book...I mean David Wagner's book - Caterpillars of Eastern North America. He's got a good selection of moth caterpillars in there.
Hmm...the hairy caterpillar looks like something from the tiger moth family.
As for the eggs on four o'clocks...they don't look like Black Swallowtail eggs...perhaps it was a Pipevine Swallowtail...their eggs are reddish brown and they lay several in one spot...but even so, I've never known a Swallowtail to use Four O'clocks as a larval host. All I find on my four o'clocks are moth caterpillars!
~ Cat
Josephine - Now you have to raise those babies so we can ALL find out what they are!!! LOL!
I would honestly like to know. It's probably the same thing using the 4 O'Clocks as a host plant in my yard! I hope you will consider babysitting these mystery eggs/cats and taking photos along the way! LOL!
Well, I am not very versed in butterflies, the butterfly was black with spots on the wings and it was large.
But I can't be sure it was a black swallowtail, we did watch her lay the eggs, I guess I will have to raise them so we can find out what it was.
Now I have to learn how to do it. Help!!!
Josephine.
You're doing great Josephine! No wonder you have so many neat cats, your garden is so full of amazing plants!
I agree it may have been a Pipevine ST, but I'm a bit curious why she laid eggs on 4 o'clock. Do you have any Aristolochia growing yet? There are several they will use as a larval host.
I just had a couple small clusters oviposited here last week. About 8 to a dozen eggs.
Did your Butterfly look like this?
http://www.theletteroflove.com/wallpaper/wp-content/photos/33_pvst1.jpg
Love that GST and the Sphinx cats! Congrats!
Still looking on the other ones, sometimes when we find something unknown we observe it to adult to find out, lol.
:-D
Well, the eggs that were laid on my four o'clocks hatched 4 days later, but the little cats did not survive. I was told they were pipevine cats, and i didn't have any of that, so they didn't make it.
But a few days later I found this guy eating on the Dame's Rocket, which is of the mustard family. I have plenty of that so I brought him in and he is doing fine.
Does anyone know what it is?
A few days later he molted, and got even hairier, and darker.
He is doing great and eating up a storm two or three large leaves a day.
Here is a close up.
Looks like this one Josephine>
http://whatsthatbug.com/images/wooly_bear_stephanie.jpg
This is a pic of a Wooly Bear, the larva of a Tiger Moth.
Looks aweful healthy you been feeding it good!!
:-Deb