Brenden was watering plants this morning for me and called us to see this caterpillar. The four of us love to watch these creatures and then look them up on the net to find out what they will be in adult form.Here the caterpillar is crawling on Joshua's' left shoulder.
A good picture of the red bands.
Here in Joshua's' hand.
Crawling away to freedom...
The Giant Leopard Moth or Eyed Tiger Moth It is distributed throughout the Southern and Eastern United States from New England to Mexico.
This species has a wingspan of 3 inches (nearly 8 cm). The wings of this moth are bright white with a pattern of neat black blotches, some solid and some hollow. The abdomen is dark blue with orange markings, the male has a narrow yellow line on the sides. Its legs have black and white bands. Adult moths are strictly nocturnal and do not generally fly before nightfall.
The caterpillar is of the "Woolly Bear" kind, with a thick coat of black bristles (setae) and red bands between its segments which become conspicuous when caterpillar rolls into a ball for defense. (PICTURE AND TEXT BORROWED FROM http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Leopard_Moth)
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