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Project Noah Nature School
Acronicta psi
The Grey Dagger (Acronicta psi) is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found from Europe and North Africa to northern Iran, Central Asia, southern and central Siberia and Mongolia. In the Levant it is found in Lebanon and Israel. The Caterpillar feeds on a wide range of plants, mainly trees and shrubs. The species overwinters as a pupa.
Decidious tree forest, feeding Thornapple species (Genus: Crataegus)
In this spotting you can see an earlier stage of the caterpillar which looks quite different even though it's the same species: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/383...
Spotted on Sep 5, 2013
Submitted on Sep 5, 2013
18 Comments
True, looks weird with that on the back.
Nice species! Very peculiar.
haha, yes we are! :)
now I'm going to see it! ;)
We are just nature freaks :), did you see my other caterpillar?http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/37883028
It really is a nice way of learning, I agree! :)
and it's not so bad for the caterpillar, too! It is protected from predators and well fed :))
I think that's a nice way of learning, I also started this summer just to get to know the life cycle process better. I take the ones I find on the streets and raise them.
hmm, they really change a lot!!! even color (I didn't notice that yours has that white line and mine hasn't)! O_o Amazing!
I sometimes grow caterpillars if I can't identify the species, but I want to know what it will become :D :))
Had to check it again because when first I saw your spotting I thought it was forming the web to begin the pupa stage but then it looked really small compared to mine plus is lacking the white line just above the feet. But yes yours was preparing for pupal stage, I guess they change a lot at the last instar. Should have brought this caterpillar home to see all the process.
it only looks small, because it is not outstreched :) and it looked like mine has already started to make a cocoon (there are small threads visible around it). :)
So mine is older, and your educated guess is right :))
Interesting information!!! :)
Sorry it is educated guess but a wrong one. Of course yours is an early stage since it's a small one and mine was an old one. So yours needs to eat a lot so it can reach the pupa stage before winter comes otherwise it will die from the cold.
haha I have to be concentrated on what i write, always confuse you :D you both have great find...
That's a wild or educated guess? :)
Or maybe it isn't a guess, but you know it for 100%?
Oh no that's true, jopy confused me :).
Yours was the last stage, mine still needs to eat more :)
actually you had to find the green one (Dot Moth Caterpillar) :P :)
But this is also great!!!! :))
Interesting that it doesn't have so long hair, though it is the same! :)
haha i believe you searched it today :D i can't decide which one like the most..
Hahaha, yea I had to because I said that to 'Sintija' so she doesn't laugh at me. It was a big surprise since I didn't expect to find it :). But I still like better the one sintija has :).
supper cool
you found it, like you said haha it's sooooo beautiful...!!