Yesterday evening, I plopped down on our cement bench in the back yard and socialized with the neighbor's dachshunds, Lucy and Mason, who come over regularly to visit "through the fence." I just happened to look down and spot this cool caterpillar, hanging onto a dead twig or grass stem. After much looking through my Caterpillars of Eastern North America, I proposed an ID of Hemileuca maia.
I was close!
Experts at Bugguide.net say my cat is a Hemileuca grotei (Grote's buck moth).
3 comments:
Sheryl-
This is a silly question but it comes from my childhood memories as it seems my parents would warn me about these caterpillars, saying they would sting!
Is this true?
the photos are fantastic!! Great Camera!!
Thanks for teaching us so much about Nature.
Martha
Evidently, they can! i just checked and read a comment under a photo of this speices on Bugguide.net that they do. So just look, don't touch.
:-)
Damn right they can sting!
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