Today’s caterpillar is an interesting species from an obscure family – Thyrididae, or window-winged moths. Pseudothyris sepulchralis (mournful thyris) is sharp looking as a caterpillar as well as an adult moth. This species is a specialist on greenbriers (Smilax sp.) and this individual was found rolled in a Smilax leaf about head-high at Kaintuck Hollow in Phelps County, MO in mid-July.
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 