Who Am I?

Last week I saw two caterpillars and a butterfly that teased me: Who am I?

1. While taking closeups of Japanese snowball fruit (Viburnum plicatum) I saw the tiny green insect above looking at me from the corner of a leaf.

Fruit of Japanese snowball viburnum, a favorite of American robins (photo by Kate St. John)

iNaturalist suggests he’s a moth in the genus Isa, a slug moth. However none of the photos show a caterpillar with a tiny black eye. He seems to be saying, “Who am I?” UPDATE, 24 July 2019: Monica Miller says he’s a planthopper, one of many confusing species.

2. On Lower Riverview Trail I paused where lots of tiny caterpillars were dropping to the ground on thin silk filaments. Were they a type of tussock moth? “Who am I?” UPDATE, 24 July 2019: Monica Miller confirmed my guess that these are hickory tussock moth caterpillars.

And in Schenley Park on the Greenfield Bridge I found an emperor. A hackberry emperor? A tawny emperor (Asterocampa clyton clyton). Thanks to Bob Machesney for the ID!

Tawny Emperor on the Greenfield Bridge , 16 July 2019 (photo by Kate St. John)

One thought on “Who Am I?

  1. Tawny Emperor
    Asterocampa clyton clyton

    Common hackberry is it’s larval host.

    The hackberry emperor would have a forewing black eyespot.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *