Red and Black Caterpillar - Pyrrharctia isabella

HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp

Clickable Guide

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Registration is open for the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2023

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29

Previous events

TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData

Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Owlet Moths and kin (Noctuoidea) » Erebidae » Tiger and Lichen Moths (Arctiinae) » Tiger Moths (Arctiini) » Spilosomina » Pyrrharctia » Isabella Tiger Moth - Hodges#8129 (Pyrrharctia isabella)

Photo#143128

Copyright © 2007 David Brady

Red and Black Caterpillar - Pyrrharctia isabella

Saratoga Springs, Utah County, Utah, USA
August 30, 2007
Size: ~30mm

The caterpillars are plentiful this time of year. Don't know if they're safe to touch--a bad sting years ago from a different caterpillar has left me shy. A neighbor of mine insists that the caterpillars are safe to handle, but then again she could be talking about her bagworms. Does anyone know what butterfly or moth they turn into?

I find frequently these caterpillars roaming through the grass and lawns of our subdivision. I assume that this is a displaced species (our subdivision is newly built out on the wetlands near Utah Lake) and not a lawn-eating caterpillar, because I've never seen them eating the grass, just hiking through it.

tag · login or register to post comments

Contributed by David Brady on 4 September, 2007 - 11:37pm
Last updated 25 September, 2007 - 11:57pm

What you have there

is what's commonly known as a Woolly Bear caterpillar.

… Ashley Bradford, 4 September, 2007 - 11:45pm

catipiller

this type of Caterpillar is safe to touch i have so far this year handled about 20 of them when you touch them they will curl up into a ball and act like the are dead till you put them down they turn into a tiger moth. i have been fascinated by this Caterpillar for a while know but there is another catipillar that is white and looks just like this one but with long black hairs on the front and back and they tell people not to pick it up cause it can give you a rash. i hope this helped you out.

… carebear2012, 5 October, 2012 - 9:09pm

Pyrrharctia Isabella

I read that this caterpillar doesn't sting but the hairs can get airborne & really irritate the lungs. Especially bad for those w/ asthma. Found several on milkweeds in my yard (N. Texas). I'm not touching them tho cuz, if you've ever so much as brushed up against an asp caterpillar (bad in ash trees), you'd never touch another caterpillar ! Rivals the sting of a hornet.

… LDElling, 25 October, 2013 - 9:24am

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2024 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Printer Friendly Version