CLOSED: What is this caterpillar?

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Sonoita Sonoita, AZ(Zone 8a) Sep 01, 2008

Found in Sonoita Az at 5300' elevation in a oak tree. Closest thing I can find it looks like is a Nevada Hog Moth?

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holeth Corpus Christi, TX(Zone 9a) Feb 19, 2009

you have photographed a contradiction.

Your photo looks like a perfect copy of my image of the Compton Tortoise Shell (light phase), but it is
1) out of its recorded range, &
2) supposedly feeds on willow, birch, & aspen.

Its tortoise shell "cousin," The Mourning Cloak, feeds on oak, & ranges all over the country, but
1) has narrower spines, &
2) is jet black with red spots down the center of its back

My guess is you've got evidence that the "expert" who wrote or edited my field guide didn't have all the info, and you just made a new discovery about that animal's behavior/range. Science is a process of obtaining knowledge, not a final statement of fact. Pass your info up the ladder.

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Sonoita Sonoita, AZ(Zone 8a) Feb 19, 2009

I collected this guy and it made a chrysalis, which is now in my daughters kindergarten class room, along with a swallow tail. I found more than one of these green monsters on our property this past fall around the oaks.
Who do I pass this up to?

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suunto Sinks Grove, WV Feb 19, 2009

Is it possible that this might be a cecrops eyed silkmoth (Automeris cecrops panima) larva? See http://tinyurl.com/bljugb for an image. Their food plants include at least two species of oak.

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Sonoita Sonoita, AZ(Zone 8a) Feb 19, 2009

My guy looked like that, but greener.

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Post #6160421
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suunto Sinks Grove, WV Feb 19, 2009

Just bear in mind that many species of caterpillar exhibit a good deal of variation in color, and that there are at least three other species in the genus Automeris that are known to occur in Arizona. See http://tinyurl.com/brr6gl for an example of one (Automeris iris) that has very green larvae.

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Sonoita Sonoita, AZ(Zone 8a) Feb 19, 2009

BINGO!!!! I live in the mountain range adjacent to the Patagonia mountains, where the establishment/Ghost town of Harshaw is located. What a beautifull moth! The kids will be in for a treat!

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holeth Corpus Christi, TX(Zone 9a) Feb 20, 2009

oops guess i over reacted. i don't have those guys in any of my field guides. guess they're filtered for eastern species.

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