As I was exploring the banks of a creek yesterday hunting for dragonflies with my friend, Walter Sanford, I stumbled upon a really cool-looking caterpillar. I love fuzzy white caterpillars and apparently I am not the only one—an August 2013 posting that I entitled “Fuzzy White Caterpillar” is my third most-viewed posting ever, with over 1820 views. The photos in that posting are definitely not among my best ever, but somehow people find their way to that posting when doing Google searches.
I was immediately struck by the bright red head and the “horns” and the front and back end of the caterpillar. Those characteristics made it easy to identify the caterpillar as a Sycamore Tussock Moth caterpillar (Halysidota harrisii). I do not know trees very well, so I cannot tell if the fallen log that the caterpillar was exploring was a sycamore, but perhaps one of my viewers can identify it for me.
Be sure to double-click on the images if your would like to get a closer view at the wonderful details of this unusual-looking caterpillar.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
That is interesting, Mike. I’ve never seen one of these in any of the places I’ve lived. Great photos.
They are pretty distinctive, Dan, but I don’t know how widespread they are. There is so much to discover every time that I go out, so I try to be alert and look all around.
I learn a lot following you, Mike. Thanks.
Wowza! You are right. This caterpillar is super cool. I never saw this caterpillar before. When I made the photos the biggest, I can see all the body parts. I love the big orange head and I can see the tiny eyes near the mandibles that he eats with. I think the long orange and white things sticking out from the head and bottom look like the ends of paintbrushes. We looked at the photos from 2013. Gem said that I wasn’t even born yet then. The raindrops on that caterpillar are neat. Thank you, Mr. Mike!
Thanks, Benjamin. I am glad you liked my new caterpillar and could see so many of its body parts. The caterpillar was moving almost all of the time that I was watching it, so it was a little difficult for me to get the shots. I have been trying to paint every day this month, so I definitely agree that the orange and white tufts look like some of my paintbrush tips.
Neat looking!
What a cool wee punk caterpillar.
“Punk” is the perfect adjective to describe his appearance. Thank, Laura.
I’m appreciative of the entomological education I’ve been getting since joining your blog. I always thought of those as just crawling and flying bird food! Lol William
Thanks, William. Dragonflies and other insects are fierce predators, but they can also be prey to those creatures higher up in the food chain. I am happy to be able to both entertain and inform you with my post about some of these little creatures. 🙂
Great detail in this caterpillar, Mike… nice image.
Thanks, Chris. I had no idea what kind of caterpillar when I saw it, but tried to get as close as possible. The biggest challenge I faced was the fact that the caterpillar was in constant motion, twisting and turning and sometimes exploring in the crevasses of the fallen tree.
It looks very prickly, and I’d be surprised if potential predators didn’t avoid it after their first good glance. The “horns” with their white tips look especially off-putting.