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Photo#795069
Unknown caterpillar with frass attached to rear - Amorpha juglandis

Unknown caterpillar with frass attached to rear - Amorpha juglandis
Kansas City, Missouri, USA
June 29, 2012
Size: approximately 2 cm
I found this caterpillar on a birch tree. I think it is probably a Smerinthus sp. or Paonias excaecatus. I noticed that it had a dried frass stuck in/ on its rear. I tried to gently remove it with a pair of tweezers, but it did not seem like that was going to work. Another idea I had was wetting a tweezers with water and mashing the frass up until it could be wiped away with a paper towel. I have not tried the second idea yet. I have never seen an incident like this before. If anyone has any suggestions, it would be much appreciated.

Thank You.

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Unknown caterpillar with frass attached to rear - Amorpha juglandis Unknown caterpillar with frass attached to rear - Amorpha juglandis Unknown caterpillar with frass attached to rear - Amorpha juglandis

Moved
Moved from Sphinx Moths.

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Moved from ID Request.

Reminds me of...
Walnut Sphinx:

But unless you misidentified the plant (I have plenty of times before), it is the wrong host...
This caterpillar is likely something closely related to the Walnut Sphinx.

 
I believe you're right.
The Walnut Sphinx looks like a match. I did some brief plant research and determined the plant is a hophornbeam.

Thanks!

 
Yes
I looked up online that walnut, hickory, hophornbeam, and birch are all hosts of this species.

 
Ah, I see.
Thank you!

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