Sunday, January 2, 2011

White-marked Tussock Caterpillar.

It took me a while to identify this caterpillar. My first reference is "Moths & Caterpillars of the North Woods" by Jim Sogaard. This is a great book with matching photos of most moths with their larval forms. Although the white-marked tussock is supposed to be common in the eastern United States and Canada it was not included in "Moths & Caterpillars of the North Woods". So I had to do some searching on the Internet and that is where I found several pics that helped to ID it. This caterpillar seems to feed mostly on tree leaves, like birch, oak, apple cherry, fir and spruce. There are typically two broods each year in the northern part of their range with the second brood over wintering in the egg form.

14 comments:

A Bit of the Blarney said...

Pretty little critter isn't he? Well done! I was stung by one these lovelies a couple of years ago. Pretty deceiving! Happy New Year! Cathy

Anonymous said...

What a cool dude...I love all the little furry details in this guy! A wonderful macro!

Bom said...

Great color contrast with the leaves. Nice shot!

Tammie Lee said...

great photo of a wild and crazy critter.

Maaike said...

a great macro
happy new year!

Jama said...

Very pretty to look at but I'm pretty sure they are poisonous!

Vasi Dubreu said...

La multi ani!
Frumoasa captura!

Cecilia Artista said...

Great macro with wonderful green colors!

Colleen said...

He's very pretty. I love the light.

Karen said...

What a delicate little creature. Terrific capture.

Chris M. said...

Thanks for helping us identify the 'pillar, which a friend had posted on Facebook. He came by for real coffee, and we found your site thru Google "crazy caterpillar identify" as a search! Then we watched you film and it was so relaxing and quiet.

Unknown said...

Found one of these today in Mankato Minnesota! Took a video and many pictures!

Unknown said...

We have them here in Alpena Michigan they showed up this year first time I seen a hatch that big!! Do the adults get large??? Are they poisonous ??

Unknown said...

This is the first one I've ever seen like this. I'm in Pollock, Louisiana. How common is it to find them this far south.