Nature Done Wright

March 26, 2018

Monday Morning Mystery 032618

Last Monday, I asked, "What kind of caterpillar is this, and can you give a couple of reasons why it's unusual?"

Much of the answer, courtesy of Deedee Burnside: It's an Io caterpillar, and its "spiny bristles can give you a very mean sting."

Alas, I asked for a couple of reasons, not just one.

Janet T

8 years ago Reply

I kept checking back to see what interesting fact was attributed to this caterpillar. Being curious and seeing no further posts I looked up the Io moth online. Perhaps you were referring to the caterpillars’ habit of traveling en mass with their siblings which all hatched out of the same egg mass. Or perhaps the fact that they start out their larval stage reddish brown, but after a few molts they are that beautiful bright green. Interesting facts, but perhaps there is something else about these caterpillars I may have missed?

Janet T

8 years ago Reply

I kept checking back to see what interesting fact was attributed to this caterpillar. Being curious and seeing no further posts I looked up the Io moth online. Perhaps you were referring to the caterpillars’ habit of traveling en mass with their siblings which all hatched out of the same egg mass. Or perhaps the fact that they start out their larval stage reddish brown, but after a few molts they are that beautiful bright green. Interesting facts, but perhaps there is something else about these caterpillars I may have missed?