Page 304 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Limacodidae
DISTRIBUTION Eastern United States, southern Ontario
HABITAT Deciduous forest
HOST PLANTS Various trees, including oak (Quercus spp.), cherry (Prunus spp.),
maple (Acer spp.), basswood (Tilia spp.), elm (Ulmus spp.),
and beech (Fagus spp.)
NOTE Deceptively attractive caterpillar whose sting can cause a
severe reaction
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but common

ADULT WINGSPAN
⁄ –1 in (17–25 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
⁄ –1 in (15–25 mm)
ISA TEXTULA
CROWNED SLUG
302
(HERRICH-SCHÄFFER, [1854])

Crowned Slug Moth caterpillars, frequently found on the
underside of oak leaves in the fall, can be both cryptic and
aposematic. When small, they blend in with the surface
and pattern of the leaf, but, as they develop, their memorable
coloring is an apt warning to predators that, if disturbed, they
can deliver a powerful sting. When mature, the caterpillar
constructs a silk cocoon, strengthened by infusions of calcium
oxalate that it produces. The pupa within forces open an escape
hatch before the moth emerges.

Limacodidae slug caterpillars move di erently from other moth
or butter y larvae because they have suckers instead of prolegs.

The larval head is usually concealed under folds of skin, a feature
shared with Blue and Hairstreak caterpillars of the Lycaenidae
family, which, however, have normal prolegs and are covered
in minute hairs. While slug caterpillars have a spectacular
and diverse appearance, the resultant adult moths are mostly
brown or gray.

The Crowned Slug caterpillar is green and
at, with a uniform pair of lobes for each
abdominal segment. In the thoracic segments,
the lobes develop into red spines with black
tips. Regardless of their shape, all of these
Actual size
projections are equipped with stinging spines.
The back ridge can have a pair of yellow or red
stripes, and the front edge of the body is edged
with orange or red. The head of the caterpillar
is not visible from above.