What in the world is that? That was my initial reaction when I spotted a mass of black, orange, and white fibers sitting atop a milkweed plant leaf. As I moved closer, I changed my mind and decided it was probably a cocoon. I was shocked when it started moving and I realized that it was a strange-looking caterpillar.
When it comes to finding insects, milkweed plants are one of my favorite locations. There are all kinds of bugs and butterflies that make their homes on these plants and I make a point to explore them whenever I find them growing. These particular milkweeds were growing in a wooded area of Wickford Park, a small park adjacent to Huntley Meadows Park, the marshland location where I shoot many of the photos featured in this blog.
After photographing the single caterpillar, I stumbled across a whole family of them devouring a leaf on a another milkweed plant. I didn’t know the species of the caterpillar, but it was easy to do a search on the internet, because I could identify the host plant. I learned that this is a Milkweed Tiger Moth caterpillar (Euchaetes egle), also known as a Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillar.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Great shots. I love the solo portrait because I can see all of the detail of this fuzzy chap but I also love the second photo, seeing all the caterpillars hanging out together.
May I ask a question as an aside: My kids love finding fuzzy caterpillars (or punk caterpillars as they often dub them) but I have had to caution them against touching them – even to rescue them – because someone told me that hairy caterpillars in the US are usually toxic. Sometimes I am able to google and identify them and authorise the kids to move the caterpillar somewhere safe but not always. What do you think? Would any toxin be that bad for a human?
I know there are some that are toxic, like the really cool-looking Saddleback caterpillar (https://michaelqpowell.wordpress.com/2013/08/13/saddleback-caterpillar/). They won’t kill you, but apparently they can cause rashes and nausea. My advice is pretty much the same as I have for snakes, which is to err on the side of caution and leave them be. I saw one guy, for example, handling a Northern Water Snake and couldn’t believe it. They are not poisonous, but there bites are supposed to be painful and, even worse, they inject an anti-coagulant, which means the bites will bleed like crazy.
That caterpillar is completely wonderful. The bright colours are amazing but are also a good warning to stay well away. I shall heed your advice with regard to fuzzy caterpillars and snakes. I confess that – coming from a country with only one venomous snake – I have been guilty of rescuing snakes here by relocating them away from hazards like parked cars but I have finally learned to stop touching snakes.
Be especially careful of asps, if they’re in your neighborhood. Here’s a page that describes them. They’re absolutely adorable, but they’re one of the worst stings imaginable. I brushed up against one once, and it was the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced. Each sweet little hair is a toxin-filled hypodermic needle, and they’re willing to use them.
It looks like the whole family has nasty tendencies.
Thank you for the warning and for the link. We have so far not happened upon any of those types but I will now know to absolutely steer clear of those.
It’s probably safe to get a good close look, but I don’t think you would want to handle any of the hairy or spiny caterpillars.
How cool! I planted milkweed specifically to attract butterflies… so far, I only have a mess of aphids ;-(
With a little lick, lady bugs will come–they love aphids, I believe.
Oops, “with a little luck…”
I always enjoy seeing your photos of caterpillars, partly because I see so few and partly because you find such cool ones. I can’t imagine finding a whole herd of the things — what a neat experience.
Great photos, Mike! I guess they might make good bottle cleaners 😉
Bottle cleaners? Why not? They reminded me of the rope chew toys that my dog used to like. She would reduce them to a wet stringy mass of fibers that looked like these caterpillars.
🙂
Nice Mike! That is one cool caterpillar! Well done! I agree Milkweed plants have cool photo subject in, on & around them. Where I moved last year we found a county park that in one of the fields, it is full of Milkweed plants. It seems you can always find something to photograph near or on them!