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Butterfly Garden

Caterpillar

9 years ago

These cats have been chewing up the yellow Liatris in our garden every summer for years. The plants are done blooming, and the leaf loss doesn't appear to affect them long-term, so we tolerate them, but I would like to know what they are. The picture is a bit fuzzy - shaky cell phone camera - but I'm hoping someone can ID them. About 3/4" (19 mm) long.

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Thanks

Tucker

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Comments (5)

gyr_falcon
9 years ago
The closest I got was a vague maybe Nadata gibbosa (White-dotted Prominent Moth Caterpillar), but I really have no idea if that is correct. I confess, I am still struggling with yellow liatris--you know the botanical name for your plant? Is that a type of Solidago?
Dante1709
9 years ago
Looks like Lysimachia sawfly larvae to me.
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dbarron
9 years ago
Yeah, liatris doesn't come in yellow.
larry_gene
9 years ago
Likely the sawfly larva. Easy to tell by examining the legs--sawfly has a pair on every body segment, lepidoptera do not.
woollybear69
9 years ago
A beautiful caterpillar.

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?what to do with this little guy?

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