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Lophocampa caryae
This moth larva has a white body with black spots that is covered in fine black and white hairs, with a few lashes sticking out here and there. From Wikipedia: "Caterpillars are covered all over in long hairlike setae, in spreading tufts. Most are white, but there are black tufts along the middle of the back, and four long black hair pencils (two near the front, and two near the back). These hairs cause itchy rashes in some people (Wagner, 2005). There are black spots along the sides, and the head capsule is black. Mature caterpillars are found from July to September (Wagner 2005). Caterpillars feed in groups of 100 or so in the early instars (Wagner 2005), skeletonizing the leaves. They become solitary later. Grows to a length of 4.5 mm."
Forests
From Wikipedia: "Primarily feeds on hickory, pecan and walnuts, but will also eat ash, elm, oak, willow, and many others (Wagner, 2005). Occasionally causes local defoliation of nut trees, but high densities do not last long enough to cause a lot of damage (Rose and Lindquist 1982)"
Spotted on Jul 7, 2009
Submitted on Sep 7, 2011
1 Comment
This is crying out for a caption!