This caterpillar has me stumped.
It is resting on a vining milkweed plant, although it might have crawled to there from some other type of plant nearby.
It looks like it has a single, spiky horn, which would be a sphinx moth of some sort. The head doesn’t look any sphinx moth I’ve seen.
Anyone have any ideas what it might be?
We’ve had yellow oleander aphids on our milkweed plants all winter, but this week I noticed this cluster of red bugs:
Any idea what they might be?
Now the answers from last week’s wing identification mystery:
1. These dark wings belong to a female carpenter bee, Xylocopa californica. Bees, wasps and ants have a forewing larger than the hindwing.
2. Flies have only one pair of wings. This is from a crane fly, Tipula sp.
3. Yes, you can see most of the cicada’s back. This is a Diceroprocta sp.
4. Moths and butterflies have veins in their wings under the covering of scales. This is a moth, but I don’t know the species.
5. The true bugs have wings that are half leathery and half membranous. This is a shield or stink bug.
6. The wings with many, many veins are from a dragonfly.
Sara, you deserve a clapping of wings (and hands) for recognizing them all at least to order. Awesome!
For more information, see Roberta Gibson Writes.
© 2025 Growing With Science Blog
Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑