Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Found this on my rose bush. This is a close-up, the caterpillar must be in its first instar(about 1mm long).

Is this a pest, or something worth raising?

Thanks,
Andrew

Im positive that its a 1st instar of this caterpillar:
http://www.geolit.org/RockvilleCSI/Caterpillar.htm

The thing is, they dont know what it is either! Lol.

Thanks,
Andrew

At first glance (pic a bit blurry) I am thinking butterfly and possibly of the "Blues." I will try to look it up. Does it sort of "hug" the plant along each side (lengthwise)?

It is hard to find books with pix of the larvae but I have one on butterflies of West Virginia. I live in NH but many are same/similar and even out your way. See if a local library has it.

I am sure that it is either a hairstreak, elfin, blue, azure or metalmark (all small butterflies). They are all in the family Lycaenidae and are referred to as Gossamer Wings.

Later today I can scan in the few pages from the book and email them to you, but in the meantime look for images of these 5 on Google Image search.

The azures feed on dogwood and apple which are in the rose family so you may want to start with them and see what is indigenous to your area - see, you DO have something interesting, you just don't know what it is! I am leaning toward Spring Azure.

have fun searching!

lele

one more thing, many of these larave take on a reddish or purplish cast as they pass thru instars.