Definite Tussock Moth
Orgyia definita fam. Erebidae (Hodges#8314)
Host plant: Found on common blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis)
Date found: 09, Aug, 2025
Location found: Cuivre River State Park, Lincoln County, MO
Notes: Found in dense populations east of the Mississippi River, this species has only a handful of records in Missouri databases such as iNaturalist and butterfliesandmoths.org. I realize that I had seen this caterpillar before, but being the amateur that I am, I though I was looking at a lightly colored or recently molted Orgyia leucostigma.
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 