Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Do you think it would be ok to feed my veileds some wild caught caterpillars as a little treat? Caught them while I was camping and I think it might be kinda nice to vary their diet with some. Thanks!

there are many toxic and harmful caterpillars out there. Unless you are absolutely sure of identification I would not risk it. Some have stinging spines, others feed on toxic plants and are toxic themselves (monarch, some hornworms and may more) and others have setae (hair) that can be irritating to respiratory track. You should always stay away from any that have the typical black/red/orange/yellow color (many combinations) which in nature mean "stay away."

If you can post some photos I can probably i.d it for you or at the very least give me a really good description and I will do my best. I raise many Lepidoptera so know my cats pretty well.

lele

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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.3 Mad. Hissers (2 died ;(
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha

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sig file edit for oversized logo/graphic 8/12/05

Oh my gosh Lele, what kind of caterpillar is that??!! I love it!

Actually, maybe you could help me out (please forgive me Flammysnake for highjacking your thread). The last time I was in South America (Ecuador) I came across a fairly large caterpillar - about the circumference of the thumb on an average size woman and maybe 7.5 to 10 cm long (3 or 4 inches), and it had 'hair'on it that looked exactly like tiny bright green plants.

I was warned by the locals, who seemed quite familiar with it, not to touch it; apparently it can create a severe reaction to the skin. Of course the only pictures I took of it didn't turn out (I was still using film back then). The plant/hair on it wasn't growing on it like moss but stood up like little trees and was very clearly a part of it. It was a spectacular shade of lime green and blended in perfectly with it's environment. Do you have any ideas what it could be?

I realize that there are probably tons of unknown or yet-to-be discovered species in the Amazon but you seem to really know your stuff so you seemed like the most logical person to ask.

Thanks for any info/insight you can offer!

Meemee

That is one of my Hyalophora cecropia moth caterpillars. It had just molted into it's final instar. You can see the shed skin behind it and if you notice the shed has red tubercles and the new cat has orange (these are the protrubences in the front). It's head is tucked under in its defensive posture. They get to about 4 " as larva and a 6 " wingspan.

As for your caterpillar. From your description I figured it is one of the Automeris genus. In the states we have about 8 species. They all have stinging spines. I raise the Automeris io (aka Io moth) and their sting is no worse than stinging nettle - frankly I find it to be less painful and not last as long. However, many can be quite painful especially if you put your whole hand on it.

I did a little searching for you and found this cool guy (see link below) which is one that is indigenous to Ecuador. I belong to a site that lists the species in Ecuador, too and counted 18. Here are some others you can do a google image search for to help you figure out which one it may have been. Btw, good thing someone was nearby to tell you not to handle it!! you would have been

Automeris janus
Automeris jivaros
Automeris jucunda
Automeris exigua
Automeris midea
Automeris boops
Automeris egeus
Automeris larra
Automeris liberia
Automeris napoensis
Automeris orestes
Automeris phrynon
A. vomona pichichensis
Automeris pomifera
Automeris postalbida
Automeris schwartzi
Automeris zugana

have fun! let me know if you figure out which it is!

lele
Automeris metzli

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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.3 Mad. Hissers (2 died ;(
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha

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sig file edit for oversized logo/graphic 8/12/05

WOW lee....that is one awesome looking catepillar. I caught this moth once (at least I think it was a moth, I'm not quite sure the difference between moths and butterflies). Anywho I put it in an old hamster cage (I was only like 12 years old at the time LOL) The wing span had to be about 5-6". Anywho, when I went back out there the next day, there was another one on the outside of the cage and they were MATING! I couldn't believe it....well, I captured that one too. Next thing I knew one of them was laying eggs all over the cage. Well, I decided it was cruel to keep them locked up and I opened the cage and eventually they flew away. Possibly a few days later, maybe longer, there were little baby black catepillars everywhere! Tons of them! Moths and butterflies are amazing creatures and have quite the process to go through to get to adulthood.
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www.geocities.com/crazy_queen
2.1 veiled chams (Obi and Yoda, Annie)
0.1 mini-rex rabbit (Lefty)
0.3 rats (dumbo/rex- Dory, dumbo - Sneezer, standard - Polly)

did the moth look like this?

since the caterpillars were black I am going to guess it was a cecropia moth -they fly almost everywhere east of the Mississippi.

That's a cute story since many of us who raise/breed these have trouble calling in a wild male to our female's mating cage and you did it by just being a curious kid! lol! Too bad the little caterpillars probably died Oh, well, a good experience anyway - glad you let them go so she could lay some of her eggs in the wild - they lay about 200-300!

lele
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.3 Mad. Hissers (2 died ;(
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha

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sig file edit for oversized logo/graphic 8/12/05

Yes, that was it!! I just did a search on it and when I saw the body of it I just knew, cuz the color of it's body was the same orangey color. But I found this moth during the day....and the info I just saw said they only come out at night. Hmm.... well, I kinda wish I would have known more, maybe I could have kept 1 of the babies and seen it go through it's stages. That would have been awesome. At first I thought it was a butterfly because of the colors, but when I saw the body I realized it didn't look like a butterfly body so I figured it was a moth. It was just strange how I saw it in my parents' backyard and it was so big....I used a fishnet to catch it. But it was defintely a memorable experience.....Thanks for the insider info...at least now I know exactly what kind it was.
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www.geocities.com/crazy_queen
2.1 veiled chams (Obi and Yoda, Annie)
0.1 mini-rex rabbit (Lefty)
0.3 rats (dumbo/rex- Dory, dumbo - Sneezer, standard - Polly)

The majority of wild silk moths fly at night (with some exceptions) but if the female was just still, it was resting. usually they are not easily seen, but she nay have just emerged from her cocoon and was basking or just happened to be in a spot where you found her. Anyway, thanks for sharing your story - I am going ot pass it along to some fellow "moth-ers" who I am sure will get a kick out the the wild pairing in a hamster cage! Btw, how old were you when this happened? Just curious

lele
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.3 Mad. Hissers (2 died ;(
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha

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sig file edit for oversized logo/graphic 8/12/05

Well, I was somewhere between 10-13. I can't remember exactly how old I was.

Yeah, it was strange, I had one inside the hamster cage and then I went out there the next day and they were mating through the bars of the cage, one on the inside, one on the outside. Weird.
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www.geocities.com/crazy_queen
2.1 veiled chams (Obi and Yoda, Annie)
0.1 mini-rex rabbit (Lefty)
0.3 rats (dumbo/rex- Dory, dumbo - Sneezer, standard - Polly)

Thanks for getting me on the right track Lele. I believe that the caterpillar was indeed from the Automeris genus. It was a year ago so my memory is a little fuzzy as far as the details go but it looked like either Automeris Jacunda or Automeris Liberia. It's really satisfying to be able to see the pictures instead of relying solely on memory.

I spent a great deal of time looking through the pictures I was able to find using your list admiring the caterpillars, some of them are quite spectacular! You are wealth of information, thank you so much!

One question; the picture of your Hyalophora Cecropia shows the shed skin having 3 red tubercles but the caterpillar only appears to have 2 orange. Is it the camera angle or did the other tubercle turn greeny/yellowy? By the way thanks for giving the 'sticking up things' a name, I didn't know that that's what they're called.

I'm hoping to go back to Ecuador a couple more times this year and, if I do, I will be on the lookout for more caterpillars - this time I'll have my digicam and will take lots of pics.

Thanks again Lele!

Meemee

The tubercles have a variety of names depending where on the body they are located (dorsal thoracic scoli, etc.) but for simplicity sake tubercles can pretty much cover them all.

It is the camera angle. They actually have 4 so only 2 are showing on the cat and three on the shed. On the cat you can just make out the edge of a third on the second set from the head.
here's another cool pic
Link

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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.3 Mad. Hissers (2 died ;(
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha

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sig file edit for oversized logo/graphic 8/12/05