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Photo#526345
Tiger Moth Caterpillar? - Arctia virginalis

Tiger Moth Caterpillar? - Arctia virginalis
Ballaine Road, Goldstream Valley north of Fairbanks, Fairbanks North Star Borough County, Alaska, USA
June 3, 2011
Size: About 2 inches
Only had brown coloration on one end - head end I think.

Images of this individual: tag all
Tiger Moth Caterpillar? - Arctia virginalis Tiger Moth Caterpillar? - Arctia virginalis Tiger Moth Caterpillar? - Arctia virginalis

Moved
Moved from Great Tiger Moth.

Moved
Moved from Arctiina.

Moved
Moved from Tiger Moths.

Moved

Moved
Moved from ID Request.

it resembles
Hodges#8163 (Platyprepia virginalis)ranchmans tiger moth.
and i am learning not to be surprised that some of these wooly bears markings are off the norm. its amazing they overwinter as caterpillers and survive up there. Too bad you didnt grab it to rear.. ill get on your moth in a minute..looks like youre still getting frost up there from the top of that plant, looks a little nipped. Keep taking pictures! We dont have alot of alaskan moths, wish id been buggin when i spent the year up there.

 
Wow, strange thought...
I don't know if this is helpful or if this will end up opening up another can of worms, but this caterpillar looks a lot like this one from Colorado. They are worlds apart, and not even on the same plant (any idea which plant the caterpillar in question is on? I'm not the best at plants, especially in Alaska), and I'm not even sure if this species is "supposed to" occur in that part of Alaska (all info online says "southern Alaska", wherever the boundary for that is). So hopefully I haven't gotten us completely off track.

 
It sure looks like...
it could be that caterpillar. I saw another one the other day that is even closer to the other. It has more brown on it. The brown end was the head. This is the first time I have seen them in Alaska. The photos were taken on Bluebells or Chiming Bells, a common wildflower. the other was walking on a grassy trail... I wish I had kept one to see what it hatched into!

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