his caterpillar was found crossing the Balconies Trail at around 10:30 at night. It appears to be a tiger moth caterpillar and one knowledgeable individual suggested this might be a Salt Marsh Moth (Estigmene acrea). I considered this and in many ways it looked right, however. despite years of moth study at the park, this species has not yet been recorded there (or in San Benito County). An adult however was recently observed in the town of Greenfield, not 15 miles from the park, making the first Monterey County. There is also a fair amount of vetch near where the caterpillar was found (possible food source?). The park's biologist who has spent years studying the area's moth fauna commented on this observation with:

"One character of your caterpillar that I don't see in any online photos is that the fleshy protuberances at the base of each tuft of spines are not uniformly colored in yours. In all the photos I've seen online, all the rows of these fleshy protuberances are the same color (often tannish), but yours has one row that is blackish and the rest are tannish. I realize that the larvae are highly variable, but this character appears to be consistent."

Any insights would be greatly appreciated!