Post by BuckSkin on Sept 4, 2022 5:25:37 GMT
Wednesday_31-August-2022
Caterpillar on my Hat
I was walking up the driveway, well clear of any trees or overhead wires, when WHAP!, What the Deuce!, something hit my hat, not like a rock or a bullet, but still quite noticeable.
When I removed my hat to investigate, not my good John B. Stetson, but this old floppy thing I wear to keep my skull from getting scorched, I found this caterpillar, about 1-3/4" long.
No way did this caterpillar do what I felt.
My only explanation is a bird made a dive for the caterpillar and hit my hat.
There was one; who's to say there couldn't have been two caterpillars and the bird got one of them.
When I saw what I had, I thought "No Problem; a quick look on Caterpillar Identification will have you named and numbered"; man, was I fooled; I looked and looked and wasn't seeing anything even similar.
Insect Identification's first sentence on their page explains it pretty well;
"The extreme variations between individual larvae can befuddle many caterpillar enthusiasts."; it had sure befuddled me.
I had given up on ever identifying what I thought would be a simple identity and then I finally found something similar enough on Moth Photographers Group to make me investigate it further and there it was.
Variable Oakleaf Caterpillar (Lochmaeus manteo)
They say this thing can squirt Formic Acid into one's eyes and orifices and really mess you up; I was unaware of that danger, so I didn't get an acid bath.
You can learn all about them at Moth Photographers Group, Butterflies and Moths, Caterpillar Identification, Insect Identification, Bug Guide, and Wikipedia.
Caterpillar on my Hat
I was walking up the driveway, well clear of any trees or overhead wires, when WHAP!, What the Deuce!, something hit my hat, not like a rock or a bullet, but still quite noticeable.
When I removed my hat to investigate, not my good John B. Stetson, but this old floppy thing I wear to keep my skull from getting scorched, I found this caterpillar, about 1-3/4" long.
No way did this caterpillar do what I felt.
My only explanation is a bird made a dive for the caterpillar and hit my hat.
There was one; who's to say there couldn't have been two caterpillars and the bird got one of them.
When I saw what I had, I thought "No Problem; a quick look on Caterpillar Identification will have you named and numbered"; man, was I fooled; I looked and looked and wasn't seeing anything even similar.
Insect Identification's first sentence on their page explains it pretty well;
"The extreme variations between individual larvae can befuddle many caterpillar enthusiasts."; it had sure befuddled me.
I had given up on ever identifying what I thought would be a simple identity and then I finally found something similar enough on Moth Photographers Group to make me investigate it further and there it was.
Variable Oakleaf Caterpillar (Lochmaeus manteo)
They say this thing can squirt Formic Acid into one's eyes and orifices and really mess you up; I was unaware of that danger, so I didn't get an acid bath.
You can learn all about them at Moth Photographers Group, Butterflies and Moths, Caterpillar Identification, Insect Identification, Bug Guide, and Wikipedia.
