hi. TheRe's a website called What's That Bug? whic I've found usefuL for identification of insects and caterpillars. ----- Original Message ----- From: "P. C. Andrews" <pcamusa@hotmail.com> To: <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Sent: Saturday, January 15, 2011 7:55 PM Subject: [pbs] Hymenocallis caterpillars > > Every few years we get a huge number of very large black caterpillars (up > to 6 inches) with narrow white/yellow bands that eat the endemic > hymenocallis in the dunes here. Its the only pest I've seen eat these > plants. They've already eaten a couple of thousand to the ground just in > the two hundred yards or so near us. The smaller caterpillars eat the top > leaf surface and leave the lower surface hanging down like floppy pieces > of gauze while the larger ones eat the whole leaf. I've noticed for the > first time this year that the caterpillars are also eating the large seeds > which are still lying on the surface of the sand and starting to sprout. > It looks like there won't be a new generation of hymenocallis this year. > I'm still trying to ID the caterpillars. I have been told that they > belong to what is locally called the money moth (Ascalapha odorata) which > is a nocturnal black moth the size of a small bat. The caterpillar looks > quite different from the money moth photos I've found. > Has anyone else had experience with these critters or is there an > entomologist on the list willing to take a look at a photo? > Regards! > Phil > Taking a brief break in zone 11 (ostensibly) > 26.608 N, 77.016 W > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/