Found inside a curled-up cherry leaf this morning.Thanks to Jean for the ID of a saddleback caterpillar.
Would it be a bad idea to touch it?
Feed it to the chickens?
Feed it to Zorak, the evil mantis?
Apparently so. Well, not sure about Zorak, but there are plenty of grasshoppers around, so we won't chance it.
Top view
From the side:
Underneath:
Well, I googled "spiky green caterpillar", and apparently, you have a saddleback caterpillar. Yes, they do sting, so be careful, as I seem to recall reading you recently had a hornet problem.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddleback_caterpillar
Jean, Chandler, & the cats
It looks like a cross between a spring roll and a hairy bat.
ReplyDeleteWTF? It's a SAR caterpillar! Must be, it's wearing a shabrack.
ReplyDeleteMay be a tad slow, covering those acres.
Don't they use green shabracks for the forensics dogs?
ReplyDeleteMaking this a cadaverpillar?
Check out this great creepy-crawly resource website
ReplyDeletehttp://www.whatsthatbug.com/
they love to get photos submitted for IDs and are very good at providing accurate info on all things bug related
Is that ever cool! How did you get the little t-shirt on him?
ReplyDeleteAnd what does he become?
I've never seen one of those before.
Funny thing is, I saw another one in North Park at SAR training this Sunday. I guess now I know what to look for, I can "see" them.
ReplyDeleteCheck out this cool site:
http://pick4.pick.uga.edu/mp/20q?guide=Caterpillars
This caterpillar becomes a rather nondescript fuzzy brown moth:
http://www.marylandmoths.com/Html/Limacodidae/Sibine_stimulea.html
I've got a new caterpillar (already ID'd at the cool site above) to show, but I want to get a better photo of him tomorrow when it is light out.