Lichen Camouflaged...Thing - Euclea delphinii

slug caterpillar

This looks like some sort of slug caterpillar, family Limacodidae. It has a very strong resemblance in shape to the Spiny Oak Slug (Euclea delphinii), though the near-white color here contrasts with that species' usual bright green. There are no images of this species currently on BugGuide! One is on the web at
http://www.ag.auburn.edu/enpl//bulletins/caterpillar/photo4.htm
Perhaps this is a related species, or (more likely) you have photographed an E. delphinii caterpillar just after it shed its skin, before the usual coloration has manifested.

… Joshua Stuart Rose, 15 August, 2005 - 12:00am

Euclea

We agree with Joshua except that images of a green individual can be found here on BugGuide. Can you submit a second image with some of the tree cropped out so people can get a closer look at this? We like this one which shows the camouflage, but a second closeup crop of this image would allow visitors to see the animal in more detail.

… john and jane balaban, 15 August, 2005 - 8:12am

In regards to shedding

How long does it take to regain its usual coloring? I observed this caterpillar for about 3 days and it remained exactly the same in terms of coloration the entire time. Also, it's interesting that its coloration near perfectly matches the lichen-laden tree it was on. Perhaps a different color scheme for the environment? It does indeed look like a Spiny Oak Slug.

… Estazq, 15 August, 2005 - 12:21am

not that long

The pale coloration after shedding does not, I believe, last more than a few hours. Definitely not 3 days! Maybe this cat is somehow leucistic/albinistic? Or perhaps it really is not Euclea delphinii, but some other species in the same genus or family?

… Joshua Stuart Rose, 15 August, 2005 - 2:27pm

Limacodidae

There are no ther species in the genus in the Eastern U.S. Dyar, who originally did the life histories of this family does draw an example of delphinii with black spots like this instead of red, but he still colored the body bright green. This is rather unusual, and I think we need to retain this photo as E. delphinii. I wish to send this to the leading expert on this group for his opinion.

… Dennis Profant, 16 August, 2005 - 12:20pm

except Euclea nanina

whose range overlaps that of delphinii from South Carolina to Florida, west to at least Louisiana. The adults are virtually identical. See information on the Euclea Info page.

… Robin McLeod, 17 December, 2006 - 10:39pm