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Photo#193289
Larvae eating red maple leaf - Dryocampa rubicunda

Larvae eating red maple leaf - Dryocampa rubicunda
Belchertown - Scarborough Brook Conservation Area, Massachusetts, USA
June 21, 2008
Size: 5 mm
Any ideas? The projections above the head seem distinctive.

Images of this individual: tag all
Larvae eating red maple leaf - Dryocampa rubicunda Larvae eating red maple leaf - Dryocampa rubicunda

Moved
Moved from Anisota.

Charley, these are Dryocampa rubicunda larvae, first instar. The image that you reference does not depict young first instar D. rubicunda, you can see by the size of the head capsule proportional to the rest of the body. The very short scoli on the thoracic segment are traits seen in first instar D. rubicunda larvae. Anisota sp. (or at least those species found in New England) have longer scoli in the first instar.

Also, red maple is not a host, or if it is, an uncommon one, of Anisota sp.. Seeing as these are first instar larvae, the eggs were certainly oviposited on red maple, something that wouldn't be expected of a female Anisota sp..

 
Thanks for the explanation
These were, in fact, right next to the eggshells from which they'd hatched.

Moved
Moved from Rosy Maple Moth.

Moved
Moved from Anisota.

 
How can you tell they're not Anisota?
And why don't they look anything like the 1st instar rosy maple moths I linked to below?

Moved
Moved from Butterflies and Moths. Look more like Anisota, but we don't know how to choose among the species.

 
They sure do...
Looks like A. oslari, A. senatoria, and A. virginiensis all feed on maple. They certainly look like senatoria

but maybe first instars of the others are similar.
Thanks!

Dryocampa rubicunda- Rosy Map
Dryocampa rubicunda- Rosy Maple Moth larvae, 1st instar

 
Are you sure?
They don't look like these:

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