August Caterpillars

I think I am learning the lesson to pay attention to the food plant. Makes sense.

This guy was munching on Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) in the floodplain of the Lost River in Orange County (the OC). I believe it is a Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis) caterpillar, whose head just looks dark in the photo. (Same caterpillar above and below.)

I love the spines and colors on this guy. All Polygonia overwinter as adults, which is pretty cool. Elm and Hackberry are their usual food plants, but hops and nettles are also frequently eaten.

Another from the Brushfoot family, I think this is a Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia). Also from the Hoosier National Forest down in Orange County. An interesting fact from Caterpillars of Eastern North America by David L. Wagner is that no stage of this butterfly is able to withstand freezing. Each year this butterfly must recolonize its range.

The food plant helped me get straight to this caterpillar. These black caterpillars were munching away on Wingstem (Verbesina alternifolia). The adult Silvery Checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis) looks a lot like a Pearl Crescent off-hand, so I'll have to be more careful in the future.

Wasn't too hard to identify this Danaus plexippus, next to a lot of Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata).

Banded Tussock Moth (Halysidota tessellaris) that seems to have lost some setae, possibly in a scuffle with a predator. This caterpillar frequently sits out in the open, on the upper surface of the leaf, suggesting that they are unsuitable prey.