Caterpilar ID thread

I am starting a new thread. Every year (especially Spring), I find new cats. Their ID is unknown to me. So I thought a thread about IDing caterpillars might be a good idea and helpful to everyone. I often lose track of what thread I am in when I post an unknown cat photo. So this will make it easier for me! I may have this made into a second sticky thread so that it always stays at the top of the forum. What does everyone think?

When you add a photo for IDing, please label the photo. Example: PHOTO #1, PHOTO #2, etc.

This message was edited Feb 24, 2008 9:22 AM

PHOTO #1

Here is the first cats to be IDed in this thread. I found these cats all over my beautiful Petunias this morning! Are these cats keepers or bird treats? (hee, hee)

This message was edited Feb 24, 2008 9:21 AM

PHOTO #2

Here is another closer view of them. Can anyone ID them for me? Butterfly or moth?

This message was edited Feb 24, 2008 9:21 AM

PHOTO #3

These tiny cats were found in a cluster on a Scarlet Milkweed leaf. Need an ID for them.

Thinking that PHOTO # 3 might be the first instar of Milkweed Tussock Moth. See this post link by Deb: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=4577428

Great idea! We really do need a caterpillar ID thread! I also lose track of threads :o)

Those first two are moth for sure. I'd say pest...but then again...somebody's pest is another's pet :o) ROLF!

I think I've seen them in either Wagner's caterpillar book or my garden pest book. Will thumb through the pages later.

Am still leaning towards tussock moth on the milkweed cats as I cannot think of any other caterpillars aside from the danaus species that would eat it...and we all know those aren't from the danaus group. Tussocks are cute looking caterpillars to me but there's way too many of them around :o)

~ Cat

Becky, that first cat looks like the one I found on my begonias. I think everyone agreed it was an armyworm. Personally, if anything was eating my petunias (I grow Silver Tidal Wave) they would not be welcome.

Melanie

Melanie - Thanks! I found this website:
http://www.ento.okstate.edu/ddd/insects/armyworm.htm

My cats sure do look like it!
Maybe I will raise 2-3 of them and toss the rest over the fence into the vacant lot and let them fend for themselves! LOL!

ID for PHOTOS 1 & 2: Armyworm

http://entomology.unl.edu/images/smgrains/armyworm/armyworm.htm

Becky,

RE: photo no. 3. I looked in my Caterpillars of Eastern North America book and he Milkweed Tussock cat doesn't look anything like those.... at least the picture in the book doesn't. It show a "densely hairy" caterpillar with black, orange, and white tufts all over.

I'll look through the book and see if I can find something that looks like yours. Thank goodness for these cat books. lol

Terrie

Unless your cats haven't grown their "hair" yet. Are you gonna keep a few to see how they turn out?

Terrie

Yes, Terrie! I am going to raise them and see what they turn into! :-) But an ID would sure be nice! :-) Thanks for continuing to look for an ID on them! :-)

Becky,

The only other moth I found that hosts on Milkweed is the Cycnia Tenera. They are fuzzy grey. I wonder if that's what it could be.

Here's a link with some pictures.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycnia_tenera

Otherwise, I'm stumped.

Terrie

Yuck is my ID for #1 & 2. :) I'm going with the Tussock moth cats on #3, since they are gregarious and use milkweed, and they're too cute! You know how first instars can look so different! I found some of the milkweed cats at my parents and brought them home with me. They were so funny! They just scurried everywhere as fast as they could...run, run, run!! They were really fun but there were so many so I just let them go outside.

Paige - Oh! Those cats are just adorable. They look like long-haired dogs to me! LOL! I truly hope that is what my cats are! :-) BTW - #1 & #2 cats got a trip over to the other side of the fence! LOL!

That's what I thought they looked like, little dogs! They were hard for me to keep up with in a cage. I seem to remember they did like the Bordered Patch cats and would just drop if disturbed. Stop, drop, and RUN!

lol...isn't that what fences are for?!

WOOF! WOOF! That's what I always think when I see them :o) They remind me of Sherry's (Tdog's) little dog Tiffany.

~ Cat

Becky, This will be very helpful for me in my new location once it warms up. In my early days of butterfly gardening in Orlando, I used to purchase cats and their host plants from an entomologist at the Winter Park farmers' market. His first name was Lorenzo, but I can't recall his last name. Probably within a year or two, people began to realize what a treasure they were getting if the milkweed and fennel plants had those little eggs and "worms" on them. Suddenly a $1.50 plant was going for $3.00 and people were arriving early to get them. I'll bet they sell them for $5.00 today. I'm looking forward to getting out to the garage to plant some of those seeds you sent me.

Pam - LOL! Yes! Those little darlin' caterpillars are becoming big sellers. I always say that I am buying some cats with free plants! :-) Good luck with your garden this year! I hope all the seeds germinate and grow for you and bring you lots and lots of butterflies and maybe even a hummer or two! :-)

Wonderful idea with the thread, thank Becky for coming up with the idea and sharing with us. I'll be camping out here, so I can learn from you and other butterfly gardening enthusiasts.
Kim

I wanted to finally follow-up on the unknown caterpillars that were found on my milkweed. Turns out they are wooly bear cats! I tried changing up their diet to another plant and they won't eat anything but the milkweed. I guess when the babies hatch, whatever they begin eating remains their diet from that point on!

Hummm, so the Monarch and Queens do have competitors? lol, I'll be looking out for them as spring has sprung here. :-)

Whoa! I wouldn't have ever guessed. I was reading in one of my books about how caterpillars "imprint" on the first thing they eat. It was advising about even switching between different species of the host plant as the cats might grow more slowly or even die. I've never had that problem, but I've never switched them too much.

Melanie

#4
I just found this interesting cat walking along the mulch. He's really cool looking.

Side view after I moved it out of the path. He played dead.
Off to see if I can find an ID somewhere!

Cathy

I think it's a Tersa Moth! Neato.

http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=3472

Says they come out a sundown to feed, pentas are one of their foodstuffs. That explains why the pentas look so shabby!

I just went back out to see where it went and sure enough, it's right at the base of the penta!

A little closer, you can see the head right in the center.

Oh Cathy! Thank you for posting that news about the tersa cat. I'm so excited because I just now moved my Pentas back out to the garden to harden off before I place them out to invite these cute little fellas back into the garden.

Also today I've spotted a few butterflies in the garden. One I recognized as Eastern Swallowtail b.f. Spring time! Wooohooooo!
Kim

Thanks Kim! Good excuse to buy some more pentas!

I just checked on it- still eating!

Yes, it can eat a bunch. lol, I raised one last year that is how I know. I've got the pink, red I'm going to find the white Pentas this season if I can. :-)

I, too, raised one on Pentas last year and what a BIG boy that cat was! The moth looks like a sleek jet or something! Such a cool looking caterpillar!!! The students in my class thought it was such a neat cat, too! :-)

Becky, I planted some of the seed you sent me. It will be three weeks this Sunday. I have mixed up the tops of the plastic containers I was using as little greenhouses. The tops had the type of seeds planted in the container, so now that the seedlings have come up, they are mystery plants to me. I planted impomea, stans tacoma, cleome, hollyhocks, and some others that haven't come up. One container has seedlings whose leaves look like a set of lungs or a heart. Might that be the impomea? Boy, have I learned a lesson. I now have little sticks to write the names/date planted. Far less likely to get mixed up that way.

Live and learn Pam! Been there, done that! LOL! I could write a book on all of my goofs!

Some of the seeds take a long time to germinate due to specific conditions such as sunlight, heat, wet or dry, cold stratification, etc. And some seeds for whatever reasons never germinate.

Did you plant ALL of your seeds or just some?

I direct sow mine. If you still have some seeds left, I would direct sow them in the ground as soon as the last frost has passed. Each plant species has it's own time table. I have planted seeds for some plants in Spring that didn't germinate until Fall! HA! Imagine my surprise to see them long after I gave up on them!

I spotted my very first swallowtail in the garden in my zone, I was so excited....wished I've got a better pic. of it!

Found this guy while looking for zebra swallowtails on pawpaws today. Any ideas?

Melanie

Melanie; the fella is ways too cute!!!
Kim

Whoa! Melanie - That is one crazy looking fella. No idea what it is! It's probably a moth cat.

Melanie, I saw a very similar cat identified only as a flower moth species. Sorry, I don't know how to add the hyper link, but the address is: www.duke.edu/~jspippen/naturephotos/caterpillars.htm

It was about 3/4 of the way down the page.

Becky, I couldn't possibly have planted all the seeds you sent inside. They would have taken over the house LOL. I am going to direct seed as soon as the last frost date as you recommend. Today one of the little container seedlings got its first true leaves. I'm pretty sure those are the hollyhocks.