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Photo#628848
Arctiidae caterpillar- orange head, black body - Arctia virginalis

Arctiidae caterpillar- orange head, black body - Arctia virginalis
Ruby Range Mountains (by Kluane Lake), Yukon Territory, Canada
August 1, 2011
Size: Appr. 4cm (length)
I found this caterpillar in an alpine tundra valley on a Polygonum bistorta plant, snacking away on the flowers. There were quite a few of them around. I am interested in the likely name of this species and am having trouble finding a resource to identify it from the photos. They are not the best, sorry, but the head is orange and the rest of the body looks similar in coloration to what is visible in the photo. It is a fairly big "wooly bear" caterpillar, so I guessed that it was an Arctiid, but beyond that I have no idea! Thanks for any help!

Images of this individual: tag all
Arctiidae caterpillar- orange head, black body - Arctia virginalis Arctiidae caterpillar- orange head, black body - Arctia virginalis

Moved
Moved from Arctiina.

Kristen, do you know if there are
Ranchmen's or Great Tiger Moths up there in the Yukon?
or

Moved

Moved
Moved from ID Request.

too bad you couldnt
collect and rear a couple.
cause i look at these cats of yours every day. i keep on thinking this could be a ranchman, but and a BIG but the fur is growing in the wrong direction for ranchman and the right direction for arctia caja plus, i see arctia caja cats with a reddish head and long whitish guard hairs and i wonder if it is one OR the other big tiger shown in the guide, arctia opulenta..from denali..??

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