Observation date: September 11, 2015
Date notes: I just found a huge caterpillar in my pond’s skimmer basket. At first I thought it might be a horned devil caterpillar, but there are several differences. It is dead so coloration is difficult but my guess is it would have been reddish brown or green or a combination. But here is what it looks like. It is about 6 inches long, cigar diameter, with a lateral cream colored green rimmed spot one per body segment per side . It has a pair of prominent horns on the first and second body rings after the head; after that the horns get smaller although the last body ring seems to have one prominent horn The hair is very wiry, and although somewhat sparse it is more prominent on the dorsal side. But here is the part that catches my eye. On it’s posterior is a triangular boney type structure that looks like it has teeth with in the triangle. I live in Dresher pensylvania. Our property is bordered by a riparian environment. It is a maple-beech climax forested area with lots of black walnuts, there is little farming in our area. I am a retired high school / college biology teacher and have never seen this guy. Got any ideas of what this is?
Submitted by: smoolichen
Specimen type: Photograph
Observation notes: None.
Status: Resident
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: September 14, 2015
Coordinator notes: None.
