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Photo#72816
Caterpillar - Limenitis

Caterpillar - Limenitis
Wichita, Kansas, USA
August 25, 2006
Size: 15mm
Anyone know what kind of caterpillar this is? Found on cottonwood. Thanks for your help.

Moved
Moved from Frass.

Frassed
Moved to frass

 
Your option to frass it
but I am moving it to Limenitis

Caterpillars of the
Viceroy and the Red-Spotted Purple look very similar. Both feed on willows and poplars (cottonwood) so that's not much help. Our recollection is that the Viceroy is more a creature of wet meadows and willow swamps, so that may be useful. Just where was that Cottonwood??!!

 
The majestic cottonwood...
where I found the caterpillar is a two-foot sapling! But, there are also mature cottonwoods, poplars and a willow there. Also, swamp milkweed with several Monarchs flying about--or so I thought. I'll pay closer attention, maybe some are actually Viceroys. I haven't noticed any Red-Spotted Purples. I have a flower pot filled with parsley that some Black Swallowtail caterpillars are feeding on and, by what now seems an odd coincidence, a cottonwood popped up in the same pot. I almost pulled it yesterday, but decided to leave it alone. I've put the Viceroy/Red-Spotted Purple on it and it's happily munching away. I'll protect it and see what it becomes. Perhaps as it grows bigger it will become more obvious as to specie? Thanks for your help. I really appreciate it. I tried to identify it before submitting the image, but it didn't match up to anything in my field guide.

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