Q&A for How to Identify a Caterpillar

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How do I find out what different caterpillars I have?

Community Answer

You can match their size and color patterns to photos in a book or on the internet.

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Question

Do caterpillars pee and poop?

Community Answer

Yes.

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What do I do if the caterpillar isn't on a plant, doesn't have a smell, I can't see it's markings, I can't find anything online or I don't have a field guide?

Community Answer

You can try testing different types of foods. Then from there, try searching the flower it ate and what type of caterpillar eats that type of plant.

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Question

Furry, black or dark brown at each end and a rust colour strip in the middle? I've seen them in Cape Breton.

Community Answer

It is a woolybear caterpillar. Don't touch them; they can irritate your skin.

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Question

My caterpillar is brown with a little bit of white. Do you know what type it is?

Summertime0

Community Answer

Maybe a Tiger Snowtail, Tersa Sphinx, or a Noctua Pronuba. They all have a brown color with possibly white mixed in.

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Question

I have a green caterpillar with a horn on its rear, what kind of caterpillar is it?

Community Answer

If the horn on its behind is red, it's most likely a tomato hookworm.

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Question

How do I tell what kind of caterpillars are which?

Community Answer

Look at their patterns or color. If you can't really tell or you are colorblind, ask a friend nearby to take a closer look at it.

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My caterpillar has a blue body with a white stripe down the middle and black on both sides, what is it?

Community Answer

It is possible this may be an Eastern tent caterpillar. But without actually seeing it, it's impossible to be certain.

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Question

Does the tomato caterpillar become a butterfly? If yes what kind of butterfly?

SunPuppy

Community Answer

Tomato hornworms become moths, specifically the five spotted hawk moth (Manduca quinquemaculata).

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My caterpillar is black with orange/yellow spikes, sometimes it changes black. What type of caterpillar is that, and is it poisonous?

Community Answer

It may be a common crow, it may change to black because it’s growing. Most caterpillars change colour when growing. And also yes, it poisonous, always assume that about a caterpillar.

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Caterpillars near me are black or dark brown with red. Its furry. I am in Western Australia. What kind of caterpillar could it be?

Kelly Ye

Community Answer

It might be the woolly bear caterpillar because it is black and furry. It has a furry thorax and a small head. Check with online images.

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Question

My caterpillar has spiky things all over its body, it’s black with a bit of brown and grey. Can you please tell me what type is it?

Kelly Ye

Community Answer

It might be the black spiky caterpillar. The black spiky caterpillar has black spikes, and it also a little brown.

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Question

I live in a heavily wooded lot in North Carolina, and I found a yellow woolly caterpillar with 4 antenna on my deck railing. Do you have any idea what it could be?

Community Answer

It sounds like a banded tussock moth. The hairs can be irritating to the skin.

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Question

I have a green caterpillar(?) that has a pointy snout. Not a segmented body. It has a white stripe down the middle and black markings on its sides.

Zoe

Community Answer

The caterpillar that you found may have been a parsley worm, which will turn into a black swallowtail butterfly. If you look after it and it wasn't one, maybe use an app for identifying insects.

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Question

How do I get rid of big green caterpillars?

Community Answer

First, find out which type of green caterpillar it is, if it is a tomato hornworm, insecticidal soap might kill it, but the pests need to come into direct contact with the substance. Bacillus thuringiensis is a bacteria that kills caterpillars, but make sure you sprayed the right caterpillar because it kills all kinds of caterpillars.

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Question

What is a green and black caterpillar called?

Community Answer

Your caterpillar might be a parsley worm, which can turn into a black swallowtail. However, without seeing it and knowing where you live, this is just a big guess. Try looking at online images to see if you can be certain about what type of caterpillar it is.

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Question

What is a orange caterpillar with a black eye and yellow forked tongue called?

Community Answer

You have found your self an orange piff. They love milkweed and tomatoes.

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Question

It's a big green caterpillar with a sectioned body with black and white "eye" like markings on each section. The head is bulbous. The caterpillar is 3 in long normally and can stretch to 4-5 in. What type of caterpillar is it?

Community Answer

It might be an eastern tiger swallowtail or a tersa sphinx caterpillar. Look up images of these caterpillars and see if either one looks like yours.

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Question

My caterpillar is white with long shaggy white hair that seems to be matted together?

Community Answer

That is quite likely a Goat moth. Check it against moth images using an online image search engine.

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Question

If the caterpillar is black, spiky and orange what is it?

Community Answer

It's possibly a banded woollybear or black woolly bear. However, without knowing where you're asking from in the world and no image, it's not definitive. Try searching caterpillar images online.

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Question

Are monarch caterpillars safe?

Community Answer

Yes, and you can raise them. However, it's not safe for you to touch them unless they're fully-grown, as they are delicate and you can easily damage them.

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Question

My caterpillar has black and yellow spots and a stripe down the middle of its back. I found this caterpillar on the concrete of my back yard in Australia, NSW. What type of caterpillar is this?

Community Answer

This may be a "spitfire" caterpillar larvae of the sawfly. While it's okay to observe it from a distance, do not touch it as it has prickly spines and can ooze an irritating substance. Leave it alone and it'll leave you alone too. For help identifying caterpillars in your region, see [http]:lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/agar/agar-cats.html.

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