Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We found a forest tent caterpillar on the driveway, it looked about dead but my son wanted to keep it. I didn't expect it to live through the night but what I found the next morning was a bit of a shock. the caterpillar was dead and shriveled and next to it were two worms. They were about 3-4 inches long, creamy white, and about as big around as a sewing needle. What are they and how can something as small as the caterpillar live for so long with worms that size stuffed inside it?Please any help would be great! Thanks for reading.

or 3/4"??

caterpillars are parasitized by a variety of wasps and flies. W/o seeing a pic of the (wasp/fly) larvae it cannot be id'd and even then it would be difficult, to say the least. If you are really interested in species you might contact an entomologist at a local university.

as for the length and living inside it could well have been coiled up. It is a sad sight to see (even on sometimes-destructive Leps like the forest tent) but it is nature's way of keeping checks and balances. That said, there are many introduced parasitic insects that can wreak havoc on many indigenous moth species. An example is the fly that was introduced to control the gypsy moth, which now is having a serious population impact on many of our wild silk moths.

probably more than you wanted to know

Yes 3 to 4 inches. I got a pic but have misplaced my cord to plug my camra into my the computer. As soon as I find it I will post a picture. Ok I know this is gross but have you ever wormed a puppy? Well the worms looked like what you have to scoop off your back lawn when the puppy has a bad case of worms.Just alot smaller. ugh. Sorry about that, it is the only thing that comes close to them.