Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,
The closest I could get at the Caterpillars of Eastern Forests was "Spotted Apatelodes" but that doesn't quite fit.
Any suggestions?
He's feeding on a pincushion flower bloom in the photo. If the photo link doesn't work, try the link url and click on the .jpg file there.

Thanks,
Chris

Go to caterpillar image.

Hi Chris,

where do you live again? Look at the American Dagger Moth (Acronicta americana) under cutworm/owlet. Here's another site with a photo (top row 4th from left) http://www.barbosalab.umd.edu/noctuidae.html The apatelodes has rather long setae (hair) and yours is straighter.

Did i tell you about bugguide.net? Troy has a great I.D. Request page and many knowledgeable folks there. let me know what you find out. Btw, nice pic! What's the camera?

lele
Bug Guide

Lele,
Thanks for the link to bugguide, I will go through it. I'm not sure of the ID because all the pages says it has a black head and the one I have has a yellow head. I'll post over on bugguide and see what they say. I gave him some cherry leaves and ash leaves from my back yard and he went right to work on the cherry leaves, so I'm glad he's eating. I've only ever reared Monarchs and was wondering if I would need to put anything else in his bottle for him to go into his cocoon(earth, extra leaves)?
I live just outside of Rochester, New York, and the camera is a Minolta Dimage F100. Not a bad shot for trying to hold the plant in one hand and the camera in another so I could get it in the best light.

Thanks for the help!!
Chris