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Green caterpillar spiky (Hickory horned devil caterpillar)

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Hickory horned devil encounter
by: Monica Brechtel

I found one crawling on the ground near my pecan tree. It is 5.5 inches long and 3/4 of an inch wide at its head. It has 8 long horns at the front thorax. I had never seen one of these before so I put it in a container with grass and a bit of water so my boys could see it. I looked it up and found out immediately that it was harmless.We brought it to school and no one had ever seen this type of caterpillar.Now I have it in a container with pecan tree leaves and we will return it to the same location I found it in. We are in Ponchatoula, La. which is about 50 miles north of New Orleans.
Hickory horned devil caterpillar
by: Anonymous

I found one of these in the Ridley Creek State Park in Media, PA today. It was fascinating and I was very happy to find your picture and know what kind of caterpillar it is. It was about 5 - 6 inches long.
Hickory horned devil caterpillar
by: Moni

Anonymous
Bugguide is a great source for info and photos. Try this page and see if any fit your description.
Enjoy the photos and the information.

http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=caterpillars&search=Search
help
by: Anonymous

does anyone now a site where i can find weird looking caterpillars
A feast.
by: russ

While camping in western PA at ohio pyle, i came across this caterpillar and figured it might be a good source of protein. me and a friend of mine who love watching survivorman were concerned that it might be poisonous, but after finding this site and the information on it, our worries were settled. we cooked it up on a hot rock in the fire, and had a small snack. we removed the horns though, while crispy and very tinny, it actually wasnt that terrible tasting. Great site, keep up the work!
Hickory horned devil caterpillar
by: Moni

Chris
Below your comment is a discussion about rearing caterpillars...here is what I said.

No matter how smart someone is the rearing of caterpillars is a challenge. Mother Nature does it best. And just so you know ahead of time, when you find a caterpillar in the 'wild', sometimes they have been parasitized....meaning another insect like a fly or wasp has laid eggs inside the caterpillar. So when you try to rear the caterpillar, it dies from the eggs inside it - not something you can predict.
This caterpillar stage lasts about 35 days. And then overwinters in pupa stage...so you would not see the moth until next spring.

Here is a good site for rearing caterpillars...click on Raising.... on the right hand side to read the various suggestions. You can also submit questions - Which I would recommend for this insect. These are folks that raise them regularly.
http://www.buglifecycle.com

With all that said the basics of rearing any insect is to feed it what it wants to eat...fresh (never sprayed with insecticides) food continually. Then, when the caterpillar stops eating...they will typically go searching for a place to pupate. Since yours has pupated in soil you could gently put it between paper towels as described below or cover the container with a paper towel or cloth (so no predators get in to destroy the pupa).
It is best to provide layers of barely damp paper towels for the caterpillar to pupate in between. Then this needs to be kept someplace where the temperatures are much like they are outside. Some folks put them in the refrigerator then put a drop of water on the paper towel once a month thru the winter until the trees start to put out foliage. Then you would bring the pupa outside to let it emerge with the normal weather. Putting a stick in the container for the moth to climb up on.
This is a brief description and may not be enough for rearing but gives you an idea.
Please do a lot of internet research.

Hickory Horned Devil Caterpillar
by: Chris

I found one of these guys today! And little did I know the unique life they have! After learning about them, I found that he's in his last stage so I provided some dirt. He quickly burrowed. So I hope to take good care to see him emerge next year! Any tips? Keep the soil somewhat moist? I may bring it indoors, what's best? Also, how deep do they burrow? Want to make sure he has enough...
Hickory horned devil caterpillar
by: Moni

Susie
No matter how smart someone is the rearing of caterpillars is a challenge. Mother Nature does it best. And just so you know ahead of time, when you find a caterpillar in the 'wild', sometimes they have been parasitized....meaning another insect like a fly or wasp has laid eggs inside the caterpillar. So when you try to rear the caterpillar, it dies from the eggs inside it - not something you can predict.
This caterpillar stage lasts about 35 days. And then overwinters in pupa stage...so you would not see the moth until next spring.

Here is a good site for rearing caterpillars...click on Raising.... on the right hand side to read the various suggestions. You can also submit questions - Which I would recommend for this insect. These are folks that raise them regularly.
http://www.buglifecycle.com

With all that said the basics of rearing any insect is to feed it what it wants to eat...fresh (never sprayed with insecticides) food continually. Then, when the caterpillar stops eating...they will typically go searching for a place to pupate. It is best to provide layers of barely damp paper towels for the caterpillar to pupate inbetween. Then this needs to be kept someplace where the temperatures are much like outside. Not sure if just setting the container in the garage for the winter is OK or if the pupa will freeze. Some folks put them in the refrigerator then put a drop of water on the paper towel once a month thru the winter until the trees start to put out foliage. Then you would bring the pupa outside to let it emerge with the normal weather. Putting a stick in for the moth to climb up on.
This is a brief description and may not be enough for rearing but gives you an idea.
Please do a lot of internet research.
Awesome
by: Susie

While visiting my sister in Clarksville, Tn. We were sittting on the porch and all of the sudden she said what the ---- is that? Too my surprise I turned aroung and said I don't know. Her grandkids ran over to it and all I could say was do not touch it!!!!!
I had never in my life of 46 years, seen anything like it. I was afraid to touch it let alone let them, I brought it home with me and a co-worker looked it up for me at work on Monday.
After all the farmers tried to tell me it's just a tobacco worm. I told them if it was a tobacco worm it was alot bigger and evil looking than I had ever seen. Needless to say, us ladies figured it out......well one of us, I just kept telling them it was big and mean looking and at the same time awesome looking. I would like for my nephew to try to raise it, as he is very smart. Any suggestions of how to care for it would be much needed and appreicated. Thanks to each and everyone of you whom put this information online for people like myself to be able to identify with.
Hickory Horned Devil
by: Moni

Brandon
Glad you were able to find the site and ID your caterpillar. They are distinctive!!!!
10/18/09
by: Brandon

I also just found one of these at my brother's football game in Columbia Station, Ohio. Thanks for posting this as it made it easy to find information on the weird caterpillar that I found!
Hickory horned devil caterpillar
by: Moni

Katlyn
Your photo is of the huge caterpillar called the hickory horned devil. It is the larva of the Royal Walnut moth, also called the Regal moth.
It really has just 6 legs, but it also has what are called prolegs on the rear end that help it to move. Prolegs are common on many caterpillars. This worm has 4 pairs of prolegs.
The larvae feed on leaves of ash, burning bush, butternut, cotton, gum, hickory, lilac, pecan, persimmon, sumac, sycamore, and walnut. The larva pupate in the soil. It was probably looking for a pupation site when you found it.
Tho the caterpillar looks dangerous, it is harmless.
Adult moths of this family do not feed.

(You can look at the adult on Insect Id page -
Read more: http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/large-orange-moth-regal-or-royal-walnut-moth-comments.html#ixzz0RhvDY8TP)

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