Late-summer caterpillars
7 September 2015
The end of summer has brought a profusion of caterpillars to our yard, and many of them look like something out of Dr. Seuss.
This first one (above) is a White-marked Tussock Moth (Orgyia leucostigma). These have been falling from our deck from a Sand Hickory.
This beautiful caterpillar is the larvae of Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) butterflies. It and its friends were happily munching on the parsley of my mother-in-law, who wasn’t quite so happy.
These have also been falling from our Sand Hickory. It’s a Fall Webworm Moth (Hyphantria cunea)
Here is another one straight from Dr. Seuss - it’s a Banded Tussock Moth (Haylsidota tessellaris). These are pretty common - I see several a day.
I’ve seen only one of these – an Angus’ Datana (Datana angusii)
I am not at all sure about this one, but the best I can tell is that it isn’t a butterfly caterpillar at all, but the larva of a Elm Sawfly (Cimbex americana). It was crawling on our red hummingbird feeder.
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