Shag Carpet Caterpillar

Description:

Also called the Hairy Tarchon Caterpillar, this is the larvae of a moth in the Bomycidae family. [You can see the moth at the iNaturalist link to the right.] At first glance this appears to be a caterpillar that has been parasitized and is covered with eggs or perhaps a fungus. Not so! The head, tail and sides are a fiery orange. Οn the black there is a rectangle shape that has black “hairs” (setae) in the middle surrounded by thick, wide, white setae. It measures 4-5 cm. long.

Habitat:

Found on the underside of a banana leaf in the Amazon rainforest of SE Ecuador (700 masl).

Notes:

I observed and photographed this caterpillar for about a week before it disappeared. One of the most unusual caterpillars I’ve ever seen. It really does look like a shag carpet.