Monday, September 05, 2005

Mothra in my bush.

Found this in a cherry tree (bush) in our front yard after the events on Saturday. I have never seen anything like this in real life. Coolest caterpillar I have ever seen.
It's called an Io Moth. Very cool. We currently have the caterpillar in a jar.
"This large and colorful caterpillar can cause painful skin eruptions (dermatitis) when handled. The caterpillar is a beautiful yellow-green with a red and a white stripe running down the sides of the body. This stripe makes it easy to identify an Io moth caterpillar.This caterpillar is covered with many venomous, or poisonous, spines called urticarial hairs. Io larvae continue to stay together, often moving in long trains. Io caterpillars feed on alder, ash, birch, cherry, elm, locust, oak, sassafras, and other deciduous ( broadleaf )trees and herbaceous plants. They are often found in corn fields."

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