Sycamore Tussock Moth caterpillar

Description:

Cute, fuzzy little caterpillar! Yellow body with black dots, covered in light yellow hair. Yellow and orange lashes on head, and yellow lashes at rear. Head is reddish-orange. Suction cup like feet. Walks along quickly. Tussock moth larvae hatch in spring, then another generation in fall. The fall generation (like this critter) builds cocoons around this time of year and overwinters. This species eats only the leaves of sycamore and plane trees. They lay their eggs on these trees, and the larvae all feast on the same leaf at first, then spread out as they grow.

Habitat:

Found on my car window. I think it fell out of a big sycamore tree in the yard of the house where I was staying. I returned it there after carrying it around with me all day at Emory (in a bug container), looking unsuccessfully for a sycamore tree!