Caterpillars

Caterpillars are the larvae of moths and butterflies. They are usually worm-like, have a distinct head and short, segmented legs on the front end of the body. The abdomen has fleshy legs with rows or circles of tiny hooks (crochets) on the end of the legs. Caterpillars may be hairy, spiny or naked. Some are hard to identify. Others have distinctive shapes or habits that make identification easy. Some of the kinds that are easier to find and identify:

• Woollybears--the common woollybear being very hairy, black with a broad band of brownish orange around the middle. It is better known than its adult form, the isabella moth. Solid black woollybears are the caterpillars of the great leopard moth. Solid yellow-to-orange woollybears, also called saltmarsh caterpillars, are the caterpillars of the acrea moth.
• Bagworm--naked caterpillar inside an individual silk bag covered with bits of plant material. Common on cedar and arborvitae and sometimes on other trees. The adult is rarely seen. Only the adult male has wings.
• Hornworms--large, naked caterpillars with a single horn on the end of the body. Common kinds are tobacco hornworm, tomato hornworm and catalpa hornworm. The adults of hornworms are sphinx moths.

• Cutworms--naked caterpillars, 1-2 inches long, usually found in soil around the bases of cut-off garden plants. There are many kinds that are hard to separate into species. The adults are called millers, owlet moths or noctuid moths.
• Cabbage caterpillars--the most common being the imported cabbageworm. It is green, 1 inch long and with four pairs of fleshy legs. The adult is a white butterfly. The cabbage looper has only two pairs of fleshy legs and is pale green; the adult is one of the owlet moths. The cross-striped cabbage catepillar is small, about 1/2 inch long, dark colored with fine cross stripes. The adult is a pyralid moth related to the European corn borer.
• Corn caterpillars-- the corn earworm, being the common caterpillar found in corn ears. It has various color phases. The European corn borer is a pale, dingy caterpillar up to 1 inch long and bores into corn stalks.
• Royal moth caterpillars-- medium to very large caterpillars with one or more pairs of horns on the thorax. They feed on various tree leaves. The caterpillar of the royal walnut moth is called a hickory-horned devil, and it feeds on hickory, walnut, sumac and sweet gum. The imperial moth feeds mostly on oak, maple, sycamore and pine. The rosy maple worm, the orange-striped oakworm and the spiny oakworm are the medium-sized members of the royal moth group. These caterpillars often feed in groups. The rosy maple moth caterpillar is green, the orange-striped oakworm is really black and yellow striped; the spiny oakworm is solid blackish with pairs of spines all along its body. (Get Entfact 008 Saturnid Moths from your county agricultural agent for more information on this group of moths.)
• Eastern tent caterpillar--hairy caterpillars in web nests in crotches of cherry trees in early spring. The adult is a small, brown moth with two narrow, white bands across the front wings.
• Fall webworm--hairy, white caterpillars living together in web nests over the ends of tree limbs in summer. The adult is a pure white tiger moth.
• Monarch--the caterpillar occurs on milkweed in late summer and fall. It is naked but brightly marked with black, white and orange bands.