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Photo#188846
Purple Catepillar

Purple Catepillar
Maryland, USA
June 7, 2008
Size: about 3"
This little guy was eating my brand new rose. He came out at dusk to eat it.

Images of this individual: tag all
Purple Catepillar Purple Catepillar Purple Catepillar

Moved

Tobacco Budworm
I vote for Heliothis virescens, aka tobacco budworm based on description on pg. 397, in Wagner (2005), Caterpillars of Eastern North America. He comments that they like to eat flower buds, with coloration differing based upon what food plants it's been eating. He gives the example that pink (like yours) may have been eating red geraniums, yellow eating ground cherry, etc.


 
neat
the flower is actually Rosa "Julia Child" which is a butter yellow. But he may have crawled onto her from a red flower at the nursery. The plant came with two damaged buds and I discovered him on this one last night.

 
Julia Child?
Seems appropriate: "Bon appètit!"

I understand a great many species in the Subfamily Heliothinae also eat flowers, and I've seen many comments on IDs that it's hard to tell those species apart.

 
yep
The original Julia Child named this rose shortly before she died I guess. It is said to smell like licorice.

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