We all know that butterflies are beautiful because they come in different colors and sizes. These colorful creatures are also ideal for pollination among wildflowers and woodland plants. But before becoming colorful winged adults, they are caterpillars that hatch from eggs.
Identifying caterpillars that turn into butterflies can be a daunting experience for many outdoor enthusiasts. But butterfly caterpillars have specific characteristics that are unique to their fellow caterpillars.
This comprehensive guide will help you identify different types of butterfly caterpillars with pictures. The description and characteristics will also help you distinguish the different types of caterpillars in your garden, park and forest.
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How to identify butterfly caterpillars?
Identifying caterpillars that turn into butterflies is quite easy for some outdoor enthusiasts. These creepy critters have specific characteristics that will let you know what type of butterfly it is in the long run. Here are some quick tips for identifying butterfly caterpillars:
body color
Butterfly caterpillars are colorful, worm-like crawling insects that come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They can be green, brown, yellow or black in color with recognizable stripes and patterns for easy identification.
puppet scene
These caterpillars enter the pupal stage before turning into beautiful butterflies. Butterfly caterpillars in the pupal stage have a hard-shelled chrysalis. Moreover, these crawling creatures never pupate on the ground.
body appearance
Most butterfly caterpillars have smooth bodies without tufts of wispy hairs. But some exotic butterfly caterpillars have scary spiny appearances. These fleshy beaks may or may not be poisonous, as it depends on the food source.
Different types of butterfly caterpillars
Caterpillars are the larval stage of moths and butterflies. But each larva has unique characteristics for easy recognition and identification. Here is a short list of butterfly caterpillars with their characteristics and images:
Monarch butterfly caterpillar (Danaus plexippus)
It is a striped caterpillar, each segment of which has a black, white and yellow stripe. Long fleshy horns and two stubby caudal appendages are other identifying features.
Monarch butterfly caterpillars are toxic to birds and other predators because they feed on milkweed plants which create toxins in their bodies. (Source: University of Maine).
The black and yellow caterpillar transforms into a beautiful monarch butterfly after the pupal stage. The iconic butterfly has bright orange wings with black vein patterns.
Queen butterfly caterpillar (Danaus gilippus)
It is a black and white striped caterpillar with yellow spots on the black stripes. This chubby striped caterpillar has six tentacles on its body.
Queen butterfly caterpillars have captivating color patterns like yellow, green, white, blue, and black-brown. Caterpillar species also feed on milkweed to generate poison in their bodies.
The caterpillar turns into a rusty brown or orange butterfly after completing the pupal stage. The wings have several white spots and black bands along the edge.
Zebra longwing butterfly caterpillar (Heliconius charithonia)
It is a greenish-gray caterpillar with long branching spines all over its abdomen. The body also has several black spots.
Long-winged zebra caterpillars move on spiny black legs. These creepy vines like to feed on flowering passion plants.
The caterpillar turns into a dark brown to black moth with white stripes, giving it a zebra-like appearance. These butterflies often adorn our gardens or our forests during the summer.
Red White Admiral Caterpillar (Limenitis arthemis)
It is a type of caterpillar that looks like bird droppings. A white admiral caterpillar has an olive-green or brownish-white appearance.
The uneven shape and white spots allow the caterpillar to camouflage itself on branches to avoid predator attacks.
White Admiral caterpillars have two large, pointed horns on their heads. The caterpillar develops into a jet-black winged butterfly with distinctive white stripes running from top to bottom.
The underside of the large wings is decorated with red-orange dots. Some species of white admiral caterpillars have iridescent blue wings with light orange tints.
Peacock butterfly caterpillar (Aglais io)
It is a long, slender caterpillar with white dots and black spines. The fleshy spines are harmless because the caterpillar does not sting or bite.
The shiny body makes it easy to identify or spot the caterpillar on the green leaf. Peacock caterpillars turn into beautiful butterflies with rusty red wings.
Each wing has a nice blue and red spot on the top corners to deter predators. The underside of the wings has black and dark brown spotted patterns.
Pearly moon caterpillar (Phyciodes tharos)
It is a spiny brown caterpillar covered with white dots and tufts of short spines. A crescent bead caterpillar typically raises its front end into a defensive stance when it feels threatened.
The spiny cafe-au-lait caterpillar transforms into a beautiful orange and brown crescent beaded butterfly. The butterfly has rusty orange wings with distinctive black markings or patterns.
American painted lady butterfly caterpillar (Vanessa virginiensis)
It is a spiny brown caterpillar with yellow cross bands and red and creamy yellow spots on the belly. Caterpillar species have unusual brown and yellow spots or patterns.
The yellow bands around the belly also have thin black lines. The spiny caterpillar turns into a beautiful orange and brown butterfly.
The butterfly has four prominent eyespots on the underside of the wings, and the upperside of the wings has white spots with dark brown to black markings.
Common Buckeye butterfly caterpillar (Junonia coenia)
It is a black or brown caterpillar with two prominent stripes on its back and tufts of short black spines. The spiny caterpillar also has red-orange and white spots.
The orange bulbous head is the caterpillar’s identifier for the butterfly. A common buckeye caterpillar transforms into a beautiful brown buckeye butterfly after the pupal stage.
The brown wings have six prominent eyespots and orange markings. Each wing is approximately 2 to 2.5 inches long.
Black swallowtail butterfly caterpillar (Papilio polyxenes)
It is a large plump lime green caterpillar with black and yellow stripes on its segment. The striped caterpillar has orange forked glands that give off an unpleasant odor when threatened.
Juvenile black swallowtail caterpillars are spiny brown with broad white bands around the middle segments. These caterpillars turn into attractive black swallowtail butterflies.
These butterflies have black wings with yellow, white and blue markings. The two prominent red markings at the base make these butterflies recognizable.
Easter Tiger swallowtail butterfly caterpillar (Papilio glaucus)
It is a dull green caterpillar with prominent eyespots on its head. This chubby green caterpillar has a large head and starts out brown and white.
The caterpillar appears as a falling bird during the first three instars for defense purposes. An adult counterpart has a forked gland that emits an unpleasant odor.
An Easter Tiger Swallowtail caterpillar after pupation turns into a beautiful yellow butterfly with black markings along its wing.
The cabbage white butterfly caterpillar (Pieris rapae)
It is a slender, light green caterpillar with light yellow spots, a longitudinal yellow line and fine hairs covering the body. This fluffy green caterpillar is also known as the cabbage worm.
Cabbage white caterpillars prefer to hide under cabbage leaves. These worm-like caterpillars turn into cabbage white butterflies.
These butterflies usually have creamy white wings with small black or brown dots. They are small black butterflies with two thin club-shaped antennae.
Emperor hackberry butterfly caterpillar (Asterocampa celtis)
It is a broad cylindrical light green caterpillar with yellow stripes along the back. These scary critters also have sharp horns on their heads, split tail tips, and small light green spines.
A hackberry emperor butterfly has distinctive dark brown wings with black, yellow, and white spots. The lower wings have white and blue circles of black, blue and yellow dots.
Clouded sulfur moth (Caterpillar Phoebis sennae)
It is a beautiful yellow caterpillar with a thin black line along its body. The golden yellow caterpillar has a smooth, hairless body.
The notches on the yellow track give it the appearance of a tire. The juvenile counterpart resembles a snail with a pale to dark green color, bluish spots and a yellow stripe.
The female cloudless butterfly has brown markings and black spots on the forewings. The male counterparts have light yellow wings and brown wings.
Passion butterfly caterpillar (Vanilla Agraulis)
It is a type of orange and black caterpillar covered with black branching spines. It is also a slender cylindrical body with six black prolegs and six small forelimbs.
The passion butterfly caterpillar has two black curved spiny horns on its head. These Florida caterpillars feed on passion plants.
Gulf penguins are orange with brown markings on the wings and three white spots on the forewings. Orange butterflies love to flit around flowering plants in the summer.
Caterpillar of the Mourning Mantle Moth (Nymphalis antiopa)
It is also known as the elm caterpillar due to its sharp quills. This creepy creature has a spiky black appearance with red-orange dots on its back.
These spiny, worm-like creatures can cause a sensational sting when handled with bare hands. The Mourning Mantle Butterfly has chocolate brown wings edged in golden yellow.
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