Cute skipper caterpillar. I'll bet that someone here will know which one.

It's a horace's duskywing, one of the more common skippers here. Congrats on finding a cat - I rarely ever find skipper cats.
Here's an adult -
{{gwi:476136}}
Sherry

Thank you!!
Are you able to tell what instar my guy's in and do you think it will eclose this year? This is a first for me--I'm so proud.

I've never raised any myself, so I don't know for sure which instar it's in, but it looks like a late instar, based on how other skippers look. I also don't know if it'll overwinter or emerge this year.
You can let us all know! :)
Sherry

I like your pictures! We don't get Horace's Duskywings here in PA, but we do get Wild Indigo Duskywings. I just read that Horace's Duskywings overwinter as caterpillars. I raise Wild Indigo Duskywings every year and I had some late ones a couple years ago that I brought into our tool shed for the winter. I wish I had left them outside because they all ended up dying. They must need some special care, and I don't know what that is for sure. I had some up until a few days ago and decided to put them back outside rather than keep them in a container and probably kill them again.
Cathy