Yes, it's a winter GF caterpillar - they're more yellow than orange in the winter.
I saw a GF flitting around my passionvines today, the first time I've ever seen an adult in January!
Here's a picture of one of my late fall GF cats - notice the color similar to yours -
{{gwi:443742}}
MissSherry

Thank you, thank you, MissSherry. I was really surprised to see any cats at all this late in the season. I just released a Monarch last week, and was out looking over my garden, and was so surprised to see these caterpillars on the passionvine. They did look a little different from ones earlier in the Summer, but I thought they might be the G.F. I sure hope the poor guys make it. It's been very mild here so far this year.

Suz

Miss Sherry, you answered a puzzle that had me curious. I had also noticed the color differences in my GF cats but just chalked it up to individual variations.

I never thought about seasonal variation in caterpillar coloring. It makes sense, though. After all, a number of butterflies have seasonal patterns in their adult form... winter vs. summer form Question Marks, Dainty Sulphurs, etc. So it would stand to reason that caterpillars could do the same.

Thanks for the lesson!

Megan
:)