#armyworm moth

[onenicebugperday]

@understones submitted: we found this caterpillar in western virginia - I would love to know what this becomes! could you identify it?

It's a noctuid moth caterpillar and I think probably in the genus Spodoptera - so maybe a yellow-striped armyworm moth or a fall armyworm moth, which are both common in your area. There's a wide variety of markings between individuals on the caterpillars so it can be difficult to be sure!

[sofiaspeaksart]

Last post of the Artfight attacks i made for this year :]

characters belong to @wispy-ispy and @olliethescribe <3<3<3

(and the little grey pegasus belongs to me)

[coolbugs]

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Fluff boi says HAI

[arcticarthropod]

Pretty baby

Yellow striped armyworm moth

[onenicebugperday]

@marshmallow-fluffy​ submitted: Friend and I found a nice moth today! Location is [removed]. Please remove location.

A lovely little dude! Looks like one of the armyworm moths in the genus Spodoptera :)

[coolbugs]

Bug of the Day

Slurpity slurp!

[coolbugs]

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Wat? Wat??? WAT???? 10,000 FOLLOWERS???? Incredible.

A huge shout-out to all of the BotD fans, and to all of you who abandoned your tumblr accounts after following BotD (I’m sure you make up a big part of that 10,000 ;-)).

I feel like I can officially call myself “The Kardashian of Insect Blogs” or at least, “The Khloe Kardashian of Insect Blogs” :-D

[northerlyy]

Thank you so much 🙏💖💖💖💖💖🙏

I STILL haven't been able to figure out what it is or will be. The closest I can find is an armyworm but it's distinctly not that because its missing the pretty distinct red eyes(?)

I'm also surprised at the size difference only these two I found on the same leaf. Checked my entire tomato plant and these are the only ones I found.

(this isn't a permanent space for them I just needed them to not eat our dinner and I didn't know if they were toxic because we do have those fuzzy white ones around here that cause horrible pain when touched)

Even if you can't figure it out, please and thank you for the time! 💘🐛

These are indeed armyworm moth caterpillars, so you were well on the right track! The lateral lined patterning of this genus is quite distinctive, as there are few other moth caterpillars that share this general appearance. I believe this is the Yellow-striped Armyworm Moth (Spodoptera ornithogalli), which is known to feed on a wide variety of herbaceous plants, including tomatoes! Depending on your location, there is also a chance this is the Southern Armyworm Moth (Spodoptera eridania), which are apparently big tomato fans around Florida, though I don't believe the markings fit as well. The red head you're looking for on these guys is present, just well-hidden under the bulk of the larger caterpillar's body. The smaller caterpillar's head is orange-ish, which is often the case with younger caterpillars!

The size difference between them isn't all that surprising, actually! Caterpillars grow extremely fast, oftentimes doubling in size over a single molt. The last time I kept caterpillars, they more than quadrupled in size in less than a week. If you were to keep growing them to adulthood, the smaller of the two would likely catch up quickly!

I appreciate the apprehension about handling animals you can't ID, especially with tussock, slug, and flannel moth caterpillars running around lol! Pretty much all caterpillars without fuzz/spines are safe to handle, so you're definitely safe to handle these—just be gentle!

Thanks for the ID request! 🐛