Crowned Slug Caterpillar
One would be hard pressed to recognize a slug caterpillar as the larval stage of a moth. Sizes and colors of these larvae differ and slug caterpillars are not the typical shape of most caterpillars. While some resemble slugs, others are distinctively different. (See https://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com/2023/09/18/monkey-slugs/ ) They have suckers instead of prolegs on their first seven abdominal segments and these suckers allow them to glide, rather than crawl, when moving from one spot to another.
After feeding on smooth-leaved trees such as basswood, beech, cherry, maple and oak, slug caterpillars spend the winter in a cocoon in their last larval stage (prepupa). Although many are brilliantly colored as larvae, most slug caterpillars develop into rather dull brown moths.
The pictured species (Isa textula), known as a Crowned Slug caterpillar, has stinging hairs surrounding its body and is only the size of a fingernail. (Discovered by Lily Piper Brown, photographed by Sadie Brown)
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Monkey Slug Season
Congratulations to Rinky Black, who was the first person to accurately identify the Mystery Photo as a Monkey Slug!
Some of our dullest-looking moths started their lives out as colorful, bizarrely-shaped caterpillars. In particular, there is a family of caterpillars (Limacodidae) known as “slug caterpillars” which come in all kinds of unusual forms and colors. They can be naked or densely hairy, and they usually have stinging hairs. The Hag Moth (Phobetron pithecium), found throughout eastern North America, is one such moth. Whereas the adult moth is a dull brown, the caterpillar stage is anything but dull. Known as the Monkey Slug, the caterpillar stage of this moth has three pairs of long “arms” and three additional pairs about half as long. Its appearance has been likened to a tarantula (many of our insectivorous birds winter in the tropics, where there are tarantulas (which the birds avoid), and therein lies the reason for the caterpillar to look like one). Although most photographs make Monkey Slugs look large, they measure only about an inch in diameter. Adult moths bear a slight resemblance to bees and wasps.
What is eye-catching about Monkey Slugs (as well as other slug caterpillars), besides their bizarre appearance, is the way in which they move. Monkey Slugs glide – instead of the typical prolegs (located behind six true legs) they have suckers (see bottom right inset). This gliding is responsible for its being classified as a “slug” caterpillar, for it moves much like a slug does. The Monkey Slug is one of the slug caterpillars that does not sting, so you can handle it safely should you find one. (Thanks to Kathy and Geoff Marchant for photo op.)
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