Insects are just plain cool
In general, caterpillars are elongated and tubular in shape but there are a few that have peculiar and bizarre shapes.
Here are some of the most uniquely shaped caterpillars. Pick your own choice which one on the list you think is the weirdest-looking of them all.
1.Cup Moth Caterpillar ( Doratifera vulnerans )
This creature look likes it is half-bodied only. This bizarre caterpillar showing bright colors and presumably stinging setae
belongs to the Limacodidae family.
2. Black-etched Prominent Caterpillar (Cerura scitiscripta)
This caterpillar which is called the Black-etched Prominent Caterpillar belongs to the Notodontidae family. It is weird
because it has a tail split into two with colorful marking at both ends.
3. Giant Swallowtail Caterpillar (Papilio cresphontes)
This caterpillar’s hosts are trees and herbs of the citrus family including Citrus species, prickly ash (Zanthoxylum
americanum), and hop tree (Ptelea trifoliata). This peculiar caterpillar belongs to the Papilionidae family.
4. Milkweed Tussock Moth or Milkweed Tiger Moth or Milkweed Caterpillar (Euchaetes egle)
This odd-looking caterpillar belongs to the Arctiidae family. It actually looks like a colorful scuba brush. The caterpillar’s
host is the Milkweeds. Like most species in this family, it has chemical defenses it acquires from its host plants.
5. Purple-crested Slug (Adoneta spinuloides)
This is a unique and adorable caterpillar. Its thorny or spiky appearance and beautiful coloration makes this little
creature beautiful and attractive.
6. Banded Tussock Moth Caterpillar (Halysidota tessellaris)
This unique and hairy caterpillar belongs to the Arctiidae family. Like most species in this family, it has chemical
defenses it acquires from its host plant. Caterpillars are covered all over in long hair-like setae, in tufts. These vary
in color from yellowish to dark gray. Extra long “hair pencils” of white and black occur at both the front and rear of the
caterpillar.
7. Pale Tussock Moth Caterpillar (Dasychira pudibunda)
Another distinctively shaped caterpillar is the Pale Tussock moth caterpillar. This weird-looking caterpillar is often with
hairs packed in tufts, and in many species the hairs break off very easily and are extremely irritating to the skin.
8. Monkey Slug or Hag Caterpillar (Phobetron pithecium)
This caterpillar is extremely bizarre in appearance. It has nine pairs of variable-length, lateral processes, which bear the
stinging hairs. These processes are curved and twisted and likened by some to the disheveled hair of a hag, for which it
is aptly named. It is found on various forest trees and ornamental shrubs, but is not as common as the other stinging
caterpillar species.
9. Puss Caterpillar (Megalopyge opercularis)
This caterpillar is uniquely shaped and has some peculiar traits as well. The puss caterpillar, or woolly slug, is the
most poisonous caterpillar in the United States. The Puss moth caterpillar spits acid on predators. The resemblance
of the larvae to soft, colorful cotton balls encourages people to pick them up and pet them. It was named “puss” because
of its resemblanec to a Persian cat.
10. White-streaked Prominent or Lace-capped Caterpillar(Oligocentria lignicolor)
With its distinct appearance, this relatively small caterpillar is really eye-catching. This odd-looking caterpillar belongs
to the Notodontidae family.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this one and were able to choose which amongst the caterpillars in the list you consider the
weirdest.
via:bukisa
