Hi, just wondering what kind of caterpillar this is, and what kind of butterfly or moth it might bec
Hi, just wondering what kind of caterpillar this is, and what kind of butterfly or moth it might become? I found it today, mid September, in Mutsu (Aomori), thank you!!P. Thanks very much for your submission today and of course for your excellent photograph. It made it a lot easier to identify!Because I was able to carefully check hairs on this caterpillar, I’m pretty certain it’s an Orgyia thyellina, ヒメシロモンドクガ (Himeshiro Mondoku-ga)a type of tussock moth.Larval Host Plants: The caterpillars are generally considered pests as they eat great quantities of human-cultivated plants (alder, rose, beans, mulberry, hops, green beans, apple, and more). Larvae: The tussock moth family all have very showy caterpillars, with brushy bunches of colorful setae (’hairs’). The caterpillars reach a length of 35-40mm in the final instar. These caterpillars can cause medically significant skin irritation (usually a rash) from a combination of urticating hairs and venom. This caterpillar should NOT BE HANDLED! You can read more about (American) Tussock Moths at this page. Adult: A small ( ♂21-29 ♀30-42mm) cream-to-brown camouflaged moth, the adult itself is not much to write home about, but they display the characteristic of the genus name Orgyia-- it means “the length of outstretched arms”, and the adult moths always sit at rest with their first pair of legs stretched out forward.Photo Eggs: Cream with a light brown center, laid in wide clusters usually on a vertical surface (ideally a food source for the caterpillars, but moths have been known to make mistakes and deposit eggs on brick walls). -- source link
#submission#caterpillar#tussock moth#colorful caterpillar#hairy caterpillar