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Project Noah Nature School
Spodoptera ornithogalli
This series has 3 different spottings of the same caterpillar. There are various colors included. These caterpillars excrete a brown fluid when touched. It even spits the fluid out at least 11 cm. Far enough to cover my camera lens. The moth spotting is at: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/739...
Was in backyard on iceplant. "It is found in Guadeloupe, Marie-Galante, Saint Kitts, Dominica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica. In North America it is found from California to Florida plus the eastern states, west to Kansas, and South-eastern Canada from Nova Scotia to Ontario. In South America it is found in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela." - Wikipedia
Variation in color from photo to photo were due to the different lighting conditions while shooting the photo's. The first and last photo's are of a younger caterpillar of the same species AKA Cotton Cutworm. "The larvae feed on various plants, including alfalfa, asparagus, bean, beet, cabbage, clover, corn, cotton, cucumber, grape, grass, jimsonweed, morning glory, onion, pea, peach, peanut, sweet potato, tobacco, tomato, turnip, wheat, watermelon and wild onion." - Wikipedia
Spotted on Jul 19, 2011
Submitted on Jul 19, 2011
2 Comments
Thank you florida33girl. I think I found it with your help :)
It's some type of cutworm (there are many). It will eventually turn into a small brown moth. These are often considered destructive in gardens as they do a great deal of damage.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutworm