Caterpillars As Transformers

Woolly bear caterpillar, Pyrrharctia isabella (photo from Wikimedia)
Woolly bear caterpillar, Pyrrharctia isabella (photo from Wikimedia)

On Throw Back Thursday:

More amazing than a Transformer toy that changes from a robot into a spaceship, this woolly bear caterpillar will wrap himself in a cocoon and spend the winter transforming into a moth.

So will this hickory tussock caterpillar …

Hickory Tussock Moth (photo by Kate St. John)
Hickory Tussock Moth (photo by Kate St. John)

… and this Promethea caterpillar.

Caterpillar of the Promethea moth, twig held by Ramona Sahni (photo by Kate St. John)
Caterpillar of the Promethea moth, twig held by Ramona Sahni (photo by Kate St. John)

Odd and ugly caterpillars become beautiful — or boring — moths.

Who becomes what?

Chuck Tague’s 2010 guide to caterpillars and moths has the answer in photographs.  See A Game of Cat and Moth: caterpillars and what they become.

 

(photo credits: wooly bear caterpillar by Christopher Jones from Wikimedia; click on the photo to see the original. hickory tussock moth caterpillar by Kate St. John. promethea moth caterpillar by Kate St. John)

 

3 thoughts on “Caterpillars As Transformers

  1. Agree, very cool! Just incredible, that metamorphosis. And the before and after can both be so beautiful and captivating. Amazing.

  2. Nice! I saw an Imperial caterpillar in WVa. It was a big guy, 4 inches long. I could have used Chuck’s game of Cat and Moth!

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