I have not posted in a while and I forgot I had found this really cool caterpillar when we went on the trip to Sleeping Giant State Park a few weeks ago. I was in the process of failing to catch a small fly that would not seem to go into my net. I tried and tried but it kept flying away just as I was about to get my net around it. In a final attempt I threw my net around a bunch of leaves on a bush and I felt something squirming on my arm. I let out a "yelp" because it had startled me, however, I found myself looking at a beautiful red, black, and yellow caterpillar.
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| The awesome caterpillar that fell on me! (I took this picture!) |
When we got back to campus I eagerly put my caterpillar in KAAD solution and tried to figure out what species it belonged to (which is harder than it looks.) Based on my identification skills, I believe this caterpillar is a
Cucullia convexipennis. This caterpillar will become a moth called a Brown-hooded Owlet. It is found in much of the northeast and parts of Canada. The wood brown color of these moths makes them easily identifiable. I'm just glad that this caterpillar fell on me because I had no chance with that fly.
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| The less beautiful moth of the awesome caterpillar- Cucullia convexipennis (I didn't take this picture!) |
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