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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Silkworm, Sphinx, and Royal Moths (Bombycoidea) » Giant Silkworm and Royal Moths (Saturniidae) » Buck and Io Moths (Hemileucinae) » Hemileucini » Automeris » Io Moth - Hodges#7746 (Automeris io)
Photo#102096
Unidentified Caterpillar - Automeris io
Copyright © 2007 John & Barbara Moerk

Unidentified Caterpillar - Automeris io
Myakka River State Park, Sarasota County, Florida, USA
March 31, 2007
Size: ~1.5"
A pair was chomping on the leaves when a wasp came along & stung them. They were dead on the ground a few minutes later.

Images of this individual: tag all
Unidentified Caterpillar - Automeris io Unidentified Caterpillar - Automeris io
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Contributed by John & Barbara Moerk on 7 April, 2007 - 7:21pm
Last updated 15 April, 2007 - 10:09pm

Maybe not dead
Wasps often sting caterpillars to paralyze them so they can be taken back to the nest and the wasp can lay an egg in it and the larva will have a live host.

Of course, some species kill the caterpillars and bring pieces back to feed to already-hatched larvae
… Chuck Entz, 8 April, 2007 - 9:56am login or register to post comments

 
These are a highly gregarious
These are a highly gregarious species in the early instars, look around the area where you found them, I bet you'll find a bunch more.

~Zak
… Zak Van Loocke, 9 April, 2007 - 5:23pm login or register to post comments

Hope you didn't touch those!
These appear to be Io Moth (Automeris io) caterpillars. See here for more images. The spines of these caterpillars pack quite a powerful sting, but guess that wasn't enough to keep the wasp away!
… Stephen Luk, 7 April, 2007 - 7:47pm login or register to post comments

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