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Solid orange mandible with tiny orange dots across black body. The tail end of the caterpillar has what appears to be an orange stinger.
Southwest Desert, seen in October/November after rain storms and cooling weather.
Although the tail end resembles a stinger, it is not certain that this is venomous or even functional. When disturbed, the caterpillar does not seem to use the tail for defence and instead curls into a loop, typical to common caterpillars.
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Nice find! The orange "stinger" is actually a horn. They do not serve a defensive purpose as far as I know. This species has several color variations.
Spotted on Nov 11, 2018
Submitted on Nov 18, 2018
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