Beautiful is caterpillar
>> Tuesday, May 21, 2013 –
caterpillar
Remember the other day when I found a green caterpillar on one of my roses while looking at rose slugs? Well, this must be the year for caterpillars on roses, because I found another one.
This one is quite different, and was found on a different rose. Are there more caterpillars this year, or have I just never noticed them on my roses before?
This one is a beauty, but it's probably not a welcome sight.
This is a species of tent caterpillar, the
This one though, I just want to look at...
It's a fifth instar caterpillar, which means it's just about ready to spin a cocoon.
It's hypnotic up close, isn't it? I wish I could have gotten even closer shots.
I've only seen a couple of these around the yard, and haven't noticed any problems. Therefore I didn't panic or do anything drastic -- I just let this guy be.
Have you seen any interesting caterpillars yet?
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I saw the same type Sunday, I have never seen them before and I have grown roses for many years.
Your photos are fantastic but I'm not fond of caterpillars, worms and other creepy crawly things. I give them a wide berth, and I hope they extend me the same courtesy :-).
I'm pretty sure this is an eastern tent caterpillar - the straight white line down the back is an identifier - where a forest tent caterpillar has a more foot-shpaed pattern. Very similar but slight difference in species preference and habitat range.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_tent_caterpillar)
Lucy: you're right! I was looking at a website that showed both types, decided it was an eastern tent, and wrote the wrong one! Thanks for pointing this out -- I'll edit the post.