"What a thousand acres of Silphiums looked like when they tickled the bellies of the buffalo is a question never again to be answered, and perhaps not even asked." -Aldo Leopold
I’m pleased to say I found a “holy grail” caterpillar species this year. Unfortunately, at the time, I did not know what I had found. On July 13th, while searching right off a parking lot at Huzzah Conservation Area in Crawford County, MO, I found this smallish bird poop mimic caterpillar. I knew I had seen this one in photos before, but on this day I had left my field guides at home and I was in an area with absolutely no cell phone coverage.
Mid instar of Acronicta funeralis (paddle caterpillar)
After getting back home, I identified this as a member of the Noctuidae family – Acronicta funeralis, aka the paddle caterpillar. It gets its common name from the paired paddlelike subdorsal setae that are present on the final instar of the caterpillar. I really wish I had known what I had found at the time. I would have brought this guy home to rear in order to get photos of the final instar of this cat. This species is rare enough that it might be the one and only that I find, but I think if I try hard enough, others will come in time.
Mid instar of Acronicta funeralis (paddle caterpillar)
Here are a few of the members of the Noctuidae family of moth caterpillars we found in 2023. Commonly know as “owlet moths,” this is a very diverse clade that is still continuing to be revised and divided. Until recently, this was the largest lepidopteran family. A number of economically important members are found in this family, such as armyworm and cutworm species.
American Dagger Moth (Acronicta americana) Noctuidae, Hodges#9200 Rarely a day on the hunt goes by without finding one or more of these little beauties. This guy was not perturbed at all by us stopping to watch. It continued to chow on the leaf as I photographed it.
Two-spotted Oak Punkie (Meganola phylla) Noctuidae, Hodges#8983.1 Found on Quercus alba (white oak).
Eclipsed Oak Dagger (Acronicta increta) Noctuidae, Hodges#9249 Not that I keep great records but I am pretty certain that this one is by far the most abundant caterpillar we come across while looking on oaks. I probably find five of these to one of other species on oaks. There are a few similar species. The second one may be a different species of Acronicta.
Noctuidae (Acronicta sp.) This is what I get for not taking photos of some of these from multiple angles. Not even the experts on iNaturalist could get this guy to species using this one image. It was a gorgeous and large caterpillar.
Gold Moth (Basilodes pepita) Noctuidae, Hodges#9781 Finally – I am sharing a cat that does not feed on woody plants. Also, a rare case of a moth that is gorgeous in both adult and larval forms. Unfortunately, this was a pretty early instar and does not show the bright and contrasting colors of older caterpillars. The gold moth feeds exclusively on Verbina species (wingstems, crownbeards).
I got back into serious hunting of caterpillars beginning in late August of this year. On some trips, I hunted with a nice group of friends and on several others I went on solo outings. All in all, it was a lot of work and, at times, I wondered if the payoff was worth the time and effort. However, like I’ve said before, anytime spent in quality spots in the outdoors is time well spent. In this first post, I am sharing, as no surprise to those who know me well enough, images of larvae from my favorite family of Leps – the Limacodidae, otherwise known as the “slug moth” caterpillars.
Red-crossed Button Slug Moth (Tortricidia pallida) Limacodidae, Hodges#4653 By far the most abundant slug we found this season was the red-crossed button. I did not collect good enough records to put a specific number of the individuals found, but it would be close to 25.
Nason’s Slug Moth (Natada nasoni) Limacodidae, Hodges#4679 This is another one that is usually found in goodly numbers during the hunting season. We found a few, but not nearly as abundant as in most years.
Stinging Rose Caterpillar Moth (Parasa indetermina) Limacodidae, Hodges#4699 Always a pleasure to find, the stinging rose caterpillars will vary considerably in the amounts of the yellow, white, black and red colors.
Skiff Moth (Prolimacodes badia) Limacodidae, Hodges#4671 Another slug that can be quite variable in colors and patterns, the skiff moths can often be found on the tops of leaves. This is opposed to most of the cats in this family being located on the undersides of leaves. As you can see in the one pictured here, these guys are patterned to appear as easily-overlooked spots of necrosis on late-season green leaves.
Inverted Y Slug Moth (Apoda y-inversum) Limacodidae, Hodges#4667 Overall, I was a little disappointed in the numbers and diversity of slugs we found this season, however this species and the following one are not always encountered every season. I believe this is only the third cat of this species I have been able to find.
Beutenmueller’s Slug Moth (Isochaetes beutenmuelleri) Limacodidae, Hodges#4675 Until this year, I have only been able to see one caterpillar of the Beutenmueller’s slug, better known as the “spun-glass” slug. This year I found three! I’ll never get tired of seeing these.
Unknown Limacodid This mid-instar cat could potentially be one of several species. I think there is a chance it could be the – jeweled tailed slug moth (Packardia geminata), but it is most likely a yellow-shouldered slug (Lithacodes fasciola). I wish I would have thought to bring it home to rear. In the know and have a better idea on the identity of this one? Please let me know in the comments below.
Shagreened Slug Moth (Apoda biguttata) Limacodidae, Hodges#4669 In the picture below of this shagreened slug, you can see a couple of the traits that are distinctive to the Limacodidae. First, it is quite common that the slug cats will eat the leaves in a more horizontal direction, squaring off the leaves, so-to-speak. Most other caterpillars will eat circular notches in the leaves as they feed. Second, although difficult to see in this picture, is the distinctive frass the caterpillar is dropping. Limacodid frass is distinctly shaped, with one section being notched to “fit” along side the ones before and after. Interestingly, monarch (Danaus plexippus) and likely other groups also share this trait.
Hag Moth (Phobetron pithecium) Limacodidae, Hodges#4677 Either we were out too early, in general, or the hag moth cats, AKA “monkey slugs,” were later than usual. I found quite a few mid-instar monkey slugs this season but not a single late-instar. I was too lazy, or perhaps disappointed, to pull out the big rig to photograph any of these, so here is a cellphone shot. The reason I wanted to share this is to show the interesting feeding behavior of cats at this stage of their development.
Notice the wavy, white to lime-green patches on the top of this leaf? This is indicative of how this younger monkey slug is feeding. Instead of free-feeding and consuming the entire leaf, this guy is feeding like a skeletonizer or a leaf-miner, in that it is scraping the top layer of the leaf. In this photo, you can see fresh scraping areas and ones that are much older, suggesting that this cat has been living on this leaf for some time. I suppose it likely that early to mid instars of all species in this family feed in this way, but I am not usually out hunting in early to mid summer to have observed this before.
A mid-instar hag moth caterpillar, feeding by scraping off the top layer of the leaf surface. BTW, the caterpillar is in the upper left section of this photo. 😉
Black-waved Flannel Moth (Megalopyge crispata) Megalopygidae, Hodges#4644 Technically, not a Limacodidae family member, the black-waved flannel moth is in the closely related family, Megalopygidae, within the same super family (Zygaenoidea), which include not only the slugs and flannel moths, but leaf skeletonizer moths as well. We regularly find this species on our late-season outings. This year I was able to find and photograph two different stages. The earlier instars are fluffy white in appearance, while the final instars are colored in warmer browns.
Remember, these guys are not for petting. Descriptions vary, but the hairs on these have been described as highly irritating to downright dangerous, potentially requiring a hospital visit.
A mid-instar of the black-waved flannel moth (Megalopyge crispata) in its fluffy white coat.
Late instars of this species are draped in reds and browns. Some have suggested they can look like the top of a recent “president’s” head.
I believe these are all of the photos I have to share of the Limacodidae from this past season. Thanks for visiting and please let me know if you find any errors in my identifications by making comments below.
White-marked Tussock Moth, Ste. Genevieve County, MO
This gorgeous redhead is the White-marked Tussock Moth (Lymantriidae – Orgyia leucostigma – 8316). I was amazed at how abundant they were and routinely found on the underside of leaves on woody plants this summer. Most folks have never seen one!
White-marked Tussock Moth, Cuivre River SP, Lincoln County, MO
Besides their striking colors and patterns, these moths have toxin-filled hairs that can cause irritation, especially to areas of sensitive skin. I have not yet photographed an adult, but I was interested to hear that the females of this species are nearly wingless and cannot fly.
White-marked Tussock Moth, Ste. Genevieve County, MO
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 