name that caterpillar - Ask Extension
Hello,
We have a debate on the name of the of caterpillar in the attached photos, our best guess is the Yellow-haired Dagger Mot...
Knowledgebase
name that caterpillar #797152
Asked June 21, 2022, 8:59 PM EDT
Hello,
We have a debate on the name of the of caterpillar in the attached photos, our best guess is the Yellow-haired Dagger Moth??? Could you please Identify the caterpillar in question please? Thank you for your help!
Lane County Oregon
Expert Response
Hi Joe,
That looks like the caterpillar of a silver-spotted tiger moth (Family: Erebidae, Subfamily: Arctiinae, Lophocampa argentata) to me. Mature caterpillars are out an active right now and here is a photo of another one for comparison...
https://bugguide.net/node/view/1506749
Silver-spotted tiger moth caterpillars can cause short-term, but alarming-looking defoliation on Douglas-firs and other conifers, but they do not cause long-term damage to these plants. Here is a link to a fact sheet from the Oregon Department of Forestry that covers the relevant information...
https://www.oregon.gov/ODF/Documents/ForestBenefits/silverspottedtigermoth.pdf
Hope that helps!
That looks like the caterpillar of a silver-spotted tiger moth (Family: Erebidae, Subfamily: Arctiinae, Lophocampa argentata) to me. Mature caterpillars are out an active right now and here is a photo of another one for comparison...
https://bugguide.net/node/view/1506749
Silver-spotted tiger moth caterpillars can cause short-term, but alarming-looking defoliation on Douglas-firs and other conifers, but they do not cause long-term damage to these plants. Here is a link to a fact sheet from the Oregon Department of Forestry that covers the relevant information...
https://www.oregon.gov/ODF/Documents/ForestBenefits/silverspottedtigermoth.pdf
Hope that helps!
