Comments for
furry yellow caterpillar (Tussock moth caterpillar )

Click here to add your own comments

Tussock moth caterpillar
by: Moni

Rory
While trying to ID another caterpillar I realized that your caterpillar is a tussock caterpillar. Not sure which one as I do not have good access to Ireland's moth caterpillar photos.
Here is what I found.

If you look at the black tufts on your photo and compare them to this photo you will see they are the same...thin fibers with small knobs on the end - http://bugguide.net/node/view/211149/bgpage
Also found this site for Great Britain/Ireland with a photo of a tussock caterpillar...if you look at the rear of the photo...looks like a shed skin that looks like your caterpillar. http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?id=5683

Therefore, with all that info I say it is definitely a tussock caterpillar.
Yellow caterpillar
by: Moni

Rory
There are so many insects out there, even tho you had not seen it before, it may have been under your nose! Since I have been photographing the insects in my garden I am amazed at what is out there that I have never seen. If we had known what it ate, you could have reared it into a moth then we would know what it was for sure! :-) If you should find another, try feeding it various tree, shrub or weed leaves to see what it might like and try to rear it. Until then we will just have to keep looking and wondering.

You might enjoy this website on life cycles...it is a great asset to learn what all stages of these insects look like. It is a great help for identifying what we find. Also, it is a wonderful educational tool for learning what the food source and what conditions are needed to develop each stage for the various insects. Many are still not known.

http://www.buglifecycle.com/?page_id=110



fuzzy
by: Rory V

This caterpillar was approxamitly 13mm long just over half an inch, and i found it in my backpack on a packet of cakes. I dont no how he got their dut whatever he is i have never seen anything like it in all my time working outdoors. he dose look a bit like a tussock moth but he did not match with his dark colours.. maybe he is a new species...
thank you for you advice it was much apreciated.
Moth caterpillar
by: Moni

Rory
Not sure which moth caterpillar this is. It could be a tussock or a tiger moth caterpillar. You don't say the size or what plant you found it on or near.
Caterpillars vary a lot in color and bristle/hair formation as they go thru different instars(molting stages) as they grow. You probably have different species in Ireland than we have here, which makes it more challenging for us when most of our moth guides are for North America.
Here are a couple of photos to compare it to, however these are only species from the US.
Let us know if you find more and have more information.
Thanks
http://bugguide.net/node/view/187887/bgpage
http://bugguide.net/node/view/353/bgpage

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How?
Simply click here to return to Insect Identification

Return to furry yellow caterpillar (Tussock moth caterpillar )









Subscribe


Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner



Subscribe in a reader


Subscribe in a reader

E-Mail Updates


Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner



Videos

Watch Videos


Loading...

.