Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

Registration is open for the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2023

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29


Previous events
TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Owlet Moths and kin (Noctuoidea) » Prominent Moths (Notodontidae) » Phalerinae » Datana » Contracted Datana - Hodges#7906 (Datana contracta)
Photo#235721
Possible Datana contracta Butterfly caterpillar - Datana contracta
Copyright © 2008 Lee Ruth

Possible Datana contracta Butterfly caterpillar - Datana contracta
Cass County, Texas, USA
October 18, 2008
Size: 1 3/4 " (4.5cm)
I have seen several of these lately and believe it is a Datana contracta Butterfly caterpillar. It assumed this posture each time I got too close. It also seemed quite willing to release its grasp on whatever it was crawling on and fall to the ground.

Lee
tag · login or register to post comments
Contributed by Lee Ruth on 23 October, 2008 - 10:33pm
Last updated 13 February, 2009 - 5:55pm

Moved
Moved from Datana.
… john and jane balaban, 13 February, 2009 - 5:55pm login or register to post comments

D. contracta
I gree this looks like D. contracta. The host is always important.
… Bob Barber, 13 February, 2009 - 5:03pm login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from Prominent Moths.
… john and jane balaban, 27 November, 2008 - 2:16pm login or register to post comments

Datana, Yes
This is a Datana caterpillar but for a moth, not a butterfly. Try www.forestryimages.org to ID your speciman. BTW Datana cats can be entertaining http://bugguide.net/node/view/199318
… Robert Lord Zimlich, 24 October, 2008 - 7:55am login or register to post comments

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2024 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact