With books, apps and internet sources, I think I did a fair job of identifying most of the caterpillars that came my way this year. There are still a few that I have not been able to identify, however. I placed the following on iNaturalist and Bugguide months ago, but so far no experts have given their opinions. If you have any ideas that could help, I’d appreciate to hear them.
This first cute little one I found at Englemann Woods N.A. in Franklin County, MO in late June. I wish I had taken more photos. I think this could be one of the punkies (fam. Nolidae), but it might also belong to one of the other spiney families.
This next one is part of a group I really loath to try to identify – nondescript green cats. I’ve gone through the guides numerous times but simply couldn’t find a perfect match. It most likely belongs to the Noctuidae family, but that doesn’t narrow it down very far. This was also found at Englemann Woods N.A. in late June and found on white oak (Quercus alba).
Next up is also a group that I haven’t gotten the hang of yet. This is likely a tiger moth (subfam. Arctiinae), but I’m not sure where to begin there. Found at Prairie Garden Trust on July 6th. Host plant not recorded.
Finally, a cat that I found in a leaf shelter of Vitis aestivalis at Kaintuck Hollow in Phelps County on July 13th. I believe this might be Herpetogramma aeglealis (fam. Carambidae) but it’s not close enough for me to be certain.
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 