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Apatelodes torrefacta
Apatelodes torrefacta - Spotted Apatelodes. Also called white caterpillar.
This white caterpillar was spotted in the campground at Rocky Gap State Park in West Virginia.
Thank you ForestDragon. I did look up both websites for the two caterpillars and see the difference. Thank you for helping me with this spotting. Grateful!
Cool find! The Spotted Apatelodes caterpillars often get mistaken for American Dagger Moth caterpillars because they are somewhat similar looking in color. However, if you look at the arrangements of the lashes (the long, dark hairs) you will notice that your caterpillar's lashes are all in a row. there are two near the front and one on the rump with shorter dark hairs between.
American Dagger Moth caterpillars usually have two pair of dark lashes at the front that are offset from the center and one on the rump with no short dark ones between. You can compare yours to ones seen on the link above. Here is an American Dagger: http://bugguide.net/node/view/337008