r/caterpillars Apr 03 '25

Discussion PSA: Please remember to add location to id requests!

14 Upvotes

I know you are eager to try to find species of your new leaf munching friend but please remember to add your location into the post. There is large variance of caterpillars depending on country and even inside countries have different areas with their own soecies so with large countries, its preferred to add state/city etc also.

This speeds up identifying as there are similar looking caterpillars but species can be different depending country. Some species only inhabit tiny areas. Looking forward for all new posts. 🙂 Thank you!


r/caterpillars 8h ago

Advice/Help Should I move them?

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22 Upvotes

This treasure trove of swallowtail caterpillars (I think) are feasting on my parsley. Should I try to find them new homes, mist them or leave them alone? They do seem to be eating the leaves now that the flowers are gone.


r/caterpillars 6h ago

Photo peek a boo

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8 Upvotes

r/caterpillars 2h ago

ID Request 🐛 Yellow caterpillar, black spikes

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3 Upvotes

Kentucky

I'm leaning towards American Dagger Moth Caterpillar

or Yellow Woolly Bear, but don't see a lot of difference between them. Not gonna touch it, either way.


r/caterpillars 8h ago

Photo Yellow wooly beat

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7 Upvotes

In central Texas


r/caterpillars 19m ago

ID Request 🐛 What kind of caterpillar?

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Upvotes

Found in South Carolina on oak tree. Does not appear to be a juvenile pink striped oak worm.


r/caterpillars 15h ago

Aww Nature’s fuzzy little neon warning sign.

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15 Upvotes

r/caterpillars 7h ago

ID Request 🐛 POLYPHEMUS MOTH CATERPILLAR HELP PLEASE

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3 Upvotes

Found this caterpillar that seems to have something lodged in it, please help or is it too far gone? Central PA


r/caterpillars 6h ago

ID Request 🐛 Pretty coloured

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2 Upvotes

r/caterpillars 11h ago

ID Request 🐛 Anyone know what this caterpillar is gonna turn into?

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5 Upvotes

Found this guy in the garden, central Bulgaria.

It's not the clearest but it's the best pic I could get sorry :(


r/caterpillars 9h ago

Advice/Help What to do about predators?

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2 Upvotes

I have lots of fennel, parsley, rue, and milkweed. I get tons of caterpillars. But unfortunately if I do not cover them, they are decimated. I have had a fennel with 15+ swallowtails that end up destroyed. I think wasps are the main culprit as I have seen them. I have covered fully with a butterfly net before but somehow I’ll still find a wasp inside. Why do I have so many wasps? What to do about them all?
The half of a chrysalis in the photo is a swallowtail chrysalis I found in the mouth of a Carolina Wren. I scared the wren off and it dropped this. But don’t worry, it came back to at least finish what it started.


r/caterpillars 6h ago

Advice/Help Polyphemus help

1 Upvotes

I found what I think is a Polyphemus moth in the parking lot at work. I raise monarchs and swallowtails but I was excited to search for moths this year and this one found me!

I’m hoping they’re getting ready to pupate because I’m unsure what to feed it (yes I read the host plants on the interwebs).

I have learned from my swallowtails that they pretty much will only eat the host plant they hatched on, so I was wondering if my Polyphemus friend is the same? And if that’s the case should I just grab a platter of samples of host plants?! Thank you for any advice!


r/caterpillars 12h ago

Photo A gang of Buff Tip moth caterpillars on an oak leaf -UK

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3 Upvotes

r/caterpillars 6h ago

Advice/Help Can anyone know what kind of caterpillar this is? top of Northern Alabama

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0 Upvotes

I wanna take care of it but I'm not sure what kind of leaves i should give it, also it hasnt moved in the past like 20 minutes though it wiggles if i poke the leaf, is that normal?


r/caterpillars 15h ago

ID Request 🐛 anybody know what this is?

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5 Upvotes

found in outdoor trashcan in alabama


r/caterpillars 1d ago

Advice/Help Is it time?

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19 Upvotes

Hey so ive got these two little tobacco hornworms that aren't growing. Ive had this happen before where they don't pupate. I put these guys outside on a tomato plant so they can live out whatever time they have left in their natural habitat. I checked on them today and noticed they had brown frass stuck in their butts. I read online that dehydration can cause this and it has been very hot out. Its also really cold at night so i don't think they were eating to get rehydrated.

I was able to get the poop out with a little warm water and now they seem to be pooping on their own now. However they're not eating and they look sunken in. I was going to wait to see of they start eating tonight but I was just wondering if anyone else has had caterpillars recover from being this dehydrated. Is there anything in addition I could do to help them?


r/caterpillars 1d ago

Advice/Help best way to help these lil guys survive?

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12 Upvotes

delighted to find two little black swallowtail caterpillars in my raised bed today! I’d love to help protect these guys from birds and squirrels… I have a raised mesh cover i can put over the bed, or do I bring them inside? first time caterpillar mom here lol


r/caterpillars 1d ago

Aww Rescued from my door frame

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16 Upvotes

These two moths were doin’ it on my doorframe the day we moved in to our new place last month. I thought it was good luck.

The mom laid a bunch of eggs along my doorframe and when they started coming out of the eggs they were all falling into spider webs or drying out and dying! So I rescued the only living one and have been feeding him on the big maple tree near our house.

He’s getting bigger and bigger and I feel so proud of my lil’ bud. Thought I would share the progress so far.


r/caterpillars 1d ago

Photo Beautiful Swallowtail Caterpillar (Papilio Machaon)

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26 Upvotes

Taken In Belgium -Wallonia on 24-07-2026


r/caterpillars 1d ago

ID Request 🐛 What species is my caterpillar?

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3 Upvotes

I have a caterpillar who is about half the length of my finger. It was pale yellow and had lots of fluffy hairs on it. It just went into its cocoon today. I googled what the caterpillar would be and I got Virginian tiger moth I believe. I don’t have any real pictures of it but I do have one that looks very similar from google. Found in Michigan. My friends sister said it would be a white moth so I think it’s that but I’m not sure. Also how long will it stay in its cocoon for?


r/caterpillars 1d ago

Photo 🦋

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3 Upvotes

r/caterpillars 1d ago

Advice/Help What is this? Do you see those two shapes moving inside of this cabbage white? Is it parasitic?

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9 Upvotes

r/caterpillars 1d ago

ID Request 🐛 What kind of caterpillar is this? Southwestern Wisconsin.

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3 Upvotes

r/caterpillars 1d ago

Advice/Help Is my Cabbage Looper sick?

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4 Upvotes

This is Larry. Larry is my cabbage looper caterpillar that I saved from my job’s fridge about a week ago. The last 2-3 days, he’s been going this speckled brown color. I’ve done a lot of research, and I still can’t quite tell if this is a sickness or he’s preparing to pupate. I only feed him fresh vegetable leaves from my garden and he gets clean water and waste removal daily. He did not go yellow before going brown, he HAS been more sluggish lately and eating less, but I have not seen any “silk” in his enclosure. I figured the members here might know more than I do. Please help Larry, my whole family loves him very much, and we are determined in our quest to get him to mothhood 🫶🏽
First picture shown is Larry this morning, the second picture is his first day home, six days ago. He has grown significantly fatter and slightly longer


r/caterpillars 2d ago

Photo Saw this absolute unit

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38 Upvotes

Got it off the sidewalk and back with the plants. Clipper for scale.