Three Cool Cats

I find the coolest cats in our woods.

Caterpillars, that is.

I see them in many shades of green, wearing spots, stripes, or both. One famous, very hungry cat has yellow, brown, white, and black stripes. Then there’s the cat I laugh at. Its brown and white ensemble mimics bird poop—perfect for fooling flying predators. (You can see these cats’ photos and IDs at the end of this post.)

As I wander our woods, some cats always stop me in my tracks. They’re beautiful. They’re hairy. And they’re a wee bit dangerous.

Have you ever seen a white-marked tussock moth caterpillar? More formally known as Orgyia leucostigma, its appearance is hard to forget. So is the likely result if you touch one (hence, the wee danger I mentioned above).

This caterpillar has urticating (stinging) hairs. Brush against one and your skin may react with a burning, stinging rash. Some people are more sensitive than others.

The little yellow brushes are its tussocks, nestled inside the much longer guard hairs. The tussocks are sometimes white or gray. I believe they’re the hairs that sting. One resource I found says that guard hairs are sensory. If something touches them, the caterpillar responds by rolling up so its more dangerous hairs stick out.

Here’s the white-marked tussock moth this caterpillar is destined to become.

My next hairy cat is the banded tussock moth (Halysidota tessellaris). It’s the white-marked cat’s cousin, several times removed—called a tussock moth but not in the ‘true’ tussock moth family.

Nonetheless, you can see a family resemblance. Both caterpillars have long lashes (apt name, no?). Both have urticating hairs.

The next two photos show a banded tussock moth cat nestled in a leafy cradle. But that little hammock was not the work of this caterpillar. The tussock moth cat is resting, exploring, and probably eating, all from the comfort of another caterpillar’s abandoned shelter.

This summer, we had an outbreak of leaf-rolling caterpillars in our many American basswood trees. They live inside cigar-like structures until it’s time to pupate in the soil. You can still see silk stitches in the abandoned one the tussock moth cat decided to hang out in. These days (in September), I’m seeing hundreds of leaf rolls with exit holes chewed in them. When I open those, they’re empty except for a pile of caterpillar poop.

Here’s what the banded tussock grows up to be.

My other hairy-cat fav is the American dagger moth caterpillar, Acronicta americana.

It looks cuddly and fluffy, but that unruly mop can sting. I have seen several of these, always on the underside of a leaf with the head curled to one side. I understand that’s the norm for these leaf munchers.

I’m finding these on redbud trees. Their long, black hairs might look like daggers, but that’s not how this creature got its common name. Look closely at the moth photo, and you might notice two dark pointed lines—the daggers—near the bottom of its wings.

I find these three caterpillars to be unusually beautiful. I hope you see some of them too, although not in large numbers. During outbreaks, these leaf eaters can do considerable foliage damage.

I’ve not noticed much of that here, except by another hairy and considerably less attractive cat, the spongy moth caterpillar (Lymantria dispar).

Their early-summer visit here marred just a few tree limbs. But elsewhere in our county, spongy moth caterpillars did some serious defoliating.

Not all hairy caterpillars have pelts that provoke rashes. But unless you’re an expert (which I most definitely am not), it’s best to be cautious. Like every mom to a kid in a store: look, don’t touch.

Here are photos of the non-hairy caterpillars I mentioned at the top of my post.

These are three of the hundreds of leafy shelters I see on our basswood trees:

I believe this is the basswood leaf roller, Pantographa limata, although I didn’t see it exit via one of the shelter’s holes. That black spot is caterpillar frass (poop).

Many people are squeamish around bugs. Me, too, until I began living in their midst, in a home surrounded by our West Michigan woods. As you can tell, now I’m fascinated and inquisitive, but still cautious when I discover a new insect or spider.

How about you?

Resources and a Related Kids’ Book

iNaturalist This is a wonderful, community-science resource when you wonder what you’re seeing in nature—birds, insects, spiders, plants, trees… you name it. Upload a photo and you’ll get their AI’s tentative ID. Then, with luck, a more informed nature watcher than I am will confirm the ID or suggest another. I’ve uploaded tons of photos for that purpose. All iNat photos are visible to site visitors, and uploading members can designate usage rights. That’s where I found the moth photos I shared here, choosing ones that are designated as having Creative Commons licenses that allow sharing, with attribution. https://www.inaturalist.org/

To learn more about the three cool cats, I recommend these articles:

Nice Doo, at Roads End Naturalist (banded tussock moth blog post) https://roadsendnaturalist.com/tag/banded-tussock-moth-caterpillar/

Sneaky White-Marked Tussock Moth Caterpillars by Joe Boggs at Ohio State University’s Buckeye Yard & Garden Online website https://bygl.osu.edu/node/2355

American Dagger Moth, NC State Extension https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/american-dagger-moth The article is short. I couldn’t find much written about these critters.

For a related kids’ book, I highly recommend Milkweed for Monarchs by Christine Van Zandt, illustrated by Alejandra Barajas.

The book isn’t about a hairy caterpillar or a moth. But life cycles are similar between moths and caterpillars. Kids will love this book about the connections between butterflies, plants, eggs, caterpillars, and ultimately, a new, beautiful butterfly. The story is told in spare, rhyming language. It’s illustrated with gorgeous, detailed art. Informational sidebars give scientific details, plainly worded so even very young kids will understand them. I highly recommend this beautiful book!

If you’d like to see kids’ books that are about moths, I recommended two in earlier posts. You can find those book reviews on my page Favorite Kids’ Books: Insects, Spiders, & Other ‘Bugs.‘

Image Credits: Carol Doeringer, Peter Waycik, Laura Gaudette.