Eastern comma caterpillar

Eastern Comma Polygonia comma. Caterpillars are usually solitary and feed on leaves at night. Older caterpillars make daytime shelters by pulling leaf edges together with silk. Winter form adults hibernate, some first migrating to the south.

The eastern comma caterpillar , Polygonia comma (Harris), is a minor pest commonly found in Northeastern hopyards. There are a great many people who know these things! Pyrrharctia isabella larva Isabella Tiger Moth. I saw species on a family trip to Manassas, Virginia.

When folded at rest, the undersides resemble dead leaves or pieces of bark. With the wings folde it resembles a dead leaf, and is also highly cryptic. I found a caterpillar , inside a leaf shelter, that it had constructed.

Satyr Comma Prepupa After your fifth instar caterpillar feeds for a few days, it will hang in this fashion, similar to other brush foot butterflies, and form a prepupa. This caterpillar , was one. Photo courtesy Nicky Davis.

The Comma is a fascinating butterfly. The scalloped edges and cryptic colouring of the wings conceal hibernating adults amongst dead leaves, while the larvae, flecked with brown and white markings, bear close resemblance to bird droppings. It is a relative small inconspicuous butterfly that is rather closely associated with moist woods where its preferred nettle hosts grow, but it sometimes strays into other areas.

With its wings folde it resembles a dead leaf and is highly cryptic. Chyrsalis brown with gold spots. Hops and nettles are preferred host plants.

Habitat: iduous woods, forest clearings and edges, open woodlands. Milkweed tiger moth Euchaetes egle. Pale body and black head. Usually in groups of several caterpillars of the same age.

It gets its name from the comma shape on the back of the hind wing of the adult butterfly. I love their little heads! Both forms have the silver “ comma ” mark ventrally on the hind wing which is usually clubbed at both ends. The ground color can be white, green, yellow or black. You can copy this taxon into another guide.

Polygonia comma Expected to occur throughout both Alabama and Mississippi and probably more common than its current known distribution for these two states. A notable exception is the familiar monarch. Leafy Spurge Hawk Moth 20. The best defense for the hop merchant is to hand pick the caterpillars off the hop plants and drown them in an earth friendly liquid.

The underside of both forms is striped with dark and light brown. There is a silvery comma mark in the middle of the hindwing in both forms. They have three dark spots in a row on each of its front wings. In the center of the hindwing there is a curve silvery, comma -shaped line that is barbed at both ends.

Their caterpillars eat nettles. We have a patch of nettles right outside our door – a great place to find interesting caterpillars. Adult Food: Rotting fruit and tree sap.

Peck’s Skipper photo by Michelle Sharp. American Toad photo by Michelle Sharp. Rudbeckia Triloba photo by Michelle Sharp. Grove Snail photo by Michelle Sharp.

My first sign of caterpillars in the tree was the sound of fras, caterpillar droppings, falling through the leaves. Unfortunately there were only a few branches low enough for me to reach. It is a relatively small, inconspicuous butterfly that is rather closely associated with moist woods where its preferred nettle hosts grow, but it sometimes strays into other areas. It is the only stage that has chewing mouthparts, and therefore a caterpillar spends most of its waking hours eating. The orange upperside, with black spots, and the jagged wing margins are distinctive, and shared with just a few related species.

Wagner Published by Princeton University Press Wagner, L. Though he prefers to eat the plants, I prefer to have them soaked and turned into beer. Hop Merchant caterpillar As the name implies, this guy loves Hops. A related butterfly, the question mark, displays a similar marking but with a dot to complete her punctuation symbol. The dot of the question mark is occasionally reduced or absent.

When their wings are closed these masters of disguise look like dried leaves and remain well-hidden. One possibility is that it is P. Like most of the caterpillar species found on the Redbu these caterpillars feed on a variety of woody plant species. A few end up on the Redbuds each year.

The final instar of the Red-humped caterpillar.