Bug Pics & ID forum: Hairy caterpillar on the Viburnum tinus
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| Please could you help me with an ID? I think this may be the larva of the Oak Eggar Moth, Lasiocampa quercus. As it has a blue face, probably an instar of about 30mm. The bigger instars have ginger faces... It may, of course, be a completely different species! If I'm wrong, could you just point me in the right direction, please... BUT don't tell me exactly what it is... I need to TRY to find it myself. Thanks!         I forgot to number the pics... sorry! The caterpillar has a hammer-shaped head and a blue face. It moved very fast... it galloped up the stem of the viburnum from a leaf in the shade to a leaf in the sun, obviously seeking out the warmth of the sun. I had to use flash (sorry, little fella) and that has made the hairs appear very white. When it had reached its new leaf and settled down I took another snap using the zoom and natural light. The colours are more accurate in that pic. The LAST pic is of another caterpillar on the same bush. I'm guessing that it is the same species as the very hairy one, but an earlier instar. What do you think? Am I on the right track? NOW you know why I was so excited... isn't he wonderful? And yes... I know not to touch them!!! |
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Sorry Ginks, for some reason this thread hadn't shown I had a new post on the home page! Don't worry about numbering them, I can link to a photo if I need.  You look to be spot on with the last one, it matches well with the third instar larva of the Oak Eggar on UK Moths.. http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?id=3630 And the 30mm stage on UK Leps, the 80mm stage look more like this pic showing the white spots on the side. It is a beauty, I can see why you got excited, I tend to do the same when I see a caterpillar! |
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| I got it right?!!! Yes , yes, YES!!! OK, I've got that out of my system... Maybe my big caterpillar is betwixt and between 30 and 80mm as it still has a blue face, but has white spots as well... I think mine must be one-year cycle moths as they overwinterd as larvae. Maybe I'll see the males later in the summer. I have broom and hawthorn in the front garden and there's a patch of brambles next door (not a very good patch... they keep hacking it back with a hedge trimmer!), so maybe the Oak Eggar Moth is here to stay! I really enjoyed taking the photos, especially the action shots of it galloping up the shrub... I got some other lovely things that day too...    Coccinella septempunctata, Salticus scenicus, Episyrphus balteatus (female)    These three pictures are of Vee, who looks quite tubby to me. Do you think she's a female? She didn't like the flash much, so I won't use it on her again. She was in a perfect position for me to get her profile, but in deep shade. I haven't managed to get a profile of Scar yet, who is in a huff... |
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| I haven't seen an Oak Eggar yet, but I have the food plants. Maybe I will in time. I bet it was fun taking pics of the caterpillar, fun to watch too. Nice shots of Coccinella septempunctata, Salticus scenicus, Episyrphus balteatus .. I have a tender spot for all of them. Oh yes, Vee is going to present you with lots of little Vees!  |
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Oh, goody gumdrops! Clever old Vee... I thought she was a girl... must show you a pic of her licking my hand...   These pics were taken in June, August and September... Isn't she lovely?! |
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| I'm a fan of Green Shield Bugs, always love to see them. |
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| Hi Janet! I managed to get some shots of Scar this morning, who was standing up for a change!!! The first shot is blurry 'cos I was shaking. I didn't really want to use the flash, knowing that GSBs don't like it, but there was no other way I could have got a photo, the weather being awful. Are the pics good enough to tell if Scar is male or female? I don't want to use the flash again, and heaven only knows when we'll next see the sun... or when the lazy blighter will stand up again!    |
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| It's hard to say which it is Ginks, on colour under the abdomen I would be tempted to say it's male as my mating pair were different colours but that could be variable for both. http://cubits.org/buglife/thread/view_post/189431/ I doubt the flash would damage their eyes, but I worry about that too. It wasn't a good day at all here, dull dull then some rain.  |
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| I couldn't decide either, but on the whole I'd go for male. He just seems like a male. He's got a completely different character to Vee. His abdo is also much darker than Vee's and although he's plumpish, he's not really tubby like Vee. If we do get some better light I'll have another shot at a photo. I suppose flash is no worse than lightning, but that doesn't go off in their faces, does it? Even if it doesn't harm them, they don't like it, that's why I put the pictures of Vee and Scar turning their backs on me and running for cover. They NEVER do that when I don't use the flash. I've watched, taken pics, talked to them for ten, twenty minutes at a time and I'm the one that has to walk away 'cos I can't stand up any longer! I hope you're OK, I had a feeling that you might not be feeling too good today... |
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| I use flash but I haven't really noticed them walking away because of it, they do that anyway I think to escape notice. Bright sun might be as bad too, if we happen to be lucky enough! OKish, had a lot of research to do for some other matter. Time to get back to my photos, still lots to do. |
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| Lovely series of pictures Ginks! I also like the Green Shieldbugs, they make such good models and are fun to watch. Strange, I have not noticed my bugs got hindered by the flash.. I'm sure Scar and Vee will provide you with lots of cute little babies |
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| Hi bonitin! Nice to hear from you. GSBs are wonderful, glad you like the pictures! Do you think Scar may be the Daddy, then? We can't decide... I also love Sloe Shieldbugs...but I've only ever seen the adults in my garden. Dock bugs are cute too... when they're very young their antennae are so big they look as if they'll trip over them! Do you have either of these species in your garden?        |
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| I saw a Sloe Bug a lot last year too, mostly not far from where I found a group of newly hatched babies. Dock Bugs so far have not been in my garden, I'm really disappointed about that. Lovely shots. |
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| Have you got any pics of the Sloe Bug babies, Janet? I'd love to see one. If I see an adult again this year I'll look for babies. Mine was in the garden for quite a long time and moved from the weigelia to the viburnum, so maybe... Do you know if Dock bugs live in family groups? In 2010 I took a lot of pics of them and they look like Mummy, Daddy and baby Dock Bug! They seemed to be all sizes and ages. Glad you like the pics. Last year I tried SO hard to get their eyes in focus... and that's not easy with a compact, is it? I was really pleased to find that tiny instar, I'd never seen one that small. It can't have been long out of the egg, can it? If they're out the back again this year I''l tell them about your safe haven in Lincs if they feel inclined to move on! |
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| My Sloe Bug babies were on a seed head of Ribwort Plantain which grows next to the bird bath. Photos here .. http://cubits.org/buglife/thread/view_post/775419/ http://cubits.org/buglife/thread/view_post/768137/ http://cubits.org/buglife/thread/view_post/764284/ http://cubits.org/buglife/thread/view_post/766684/ I don't know about Dock Bugs, if they hatch on a plant then I guess they will be near each other as they grow. I don't know if the parents hang around but the Sloe Bug wasn't far from the babies. I'm not sure how long the nymph would have been out the egg, the shieldbugs I have seen are around 2mm I think. I got a group of baby Green Shieldbugs last year too, they dispersed and disappeared very quickly. They are hard to notice in a cluster, they look like a small splattering of bird dropping and I only noticed them because I spotted a single stray nymph. Your nymph looks like a 1st instar .. http://www.britishbugs.org.uk/heteroptera/idcards/life_stage... Bug faces are difficult to get at the best of times! They have a shape which makes it difficult. |
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| I loved your pics of the babes, Janet. Thanks for finding them for me. When I first photographed Sloe Bugs in 2010 I hadn't realised that they were hairy! Even the babes are furry, and they're very distinctive with that tangerine marking on their backs, aren't they? Ashley's drawings are so good, aren't they? She asked me if I'd like to help her with some illustrations, but I just don't have the time to rear the bugs and draw them. I'm still way behind with my IDing and things. It wouldn't be fair to the bugs either as my health is so uncertain, I'd hate for them to get neglected when I take a turn for the worse. Funny you should mention the greenie instars, I saw and captured a cluster last year too. A few months later I think I found the eggs from which they hatched. I wasn't sure about them until I saw your pics just now. I was going to e-mail my pics to Ashley for confirmation, but as we are talking about them, I'll sort out the pics tomorrow and post them here. Wouldn't it be spooky if we were both taking pics of them on the same day??? I agree about bug faces... you think you've got the perfect shot lined up and the dratted bug waves an antenna in front of his eyes and the pic comes out blurry!  |
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| Hey! I've just realised that all these pics of the Dock Bugs are of instars. There's not an adult amongst them. I wonder if I got one last year... will have to check that out... |
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| Good news, I found my pics of the Dock Bug adults from last year... I'll post a couple later. I've also sorted out these pics of what I think are early instar nymphs of the Green Shield Bug. I found them amongst the plants on my varandah on the last day in May 2011. I'd seen a greenie lurking amongst the plants the previous summer. As you said, Janet, the cluster looked like bird poo... until it moved... then I was able to get only a couple of snaps of them as they dispersed. They're so tiny and run very fast... I found the empty eggs at the beginning of December when I was tidying up the same group of plants. Could you check my ID of the instars, please, Janet? Do you think it's likely that they came from these eggs? I couldn't find any more...     |
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| You're right, all the Dock Bugs are nymphs, http://www.britishbugs.org.uk/heteroptera/Coreidae/coreus_ma... I wasn't absolutely certain my 'bird dropping' group of nymphs were the Green Shieldbug, they didn't look typical but I was told they were. I have the Woundwort Shieldbug too, I first saw nymphs on my Fuchsias under my window and have continued to see them there so they must have bred there. The group of nymphs wasn't far from the Fuchsias. I have found some Hedge Woundwort which is growing on the other side of the drain where I leave nature to do it's thing, and I have seen them mating on them but I doubt nymphs would be able to cross the drain to where my Fuchsias are! The early stages look very similar. I got mine on 3rd July.. http://cubits.org/buglife/thread/view_post/749139/ Your nymphs look very dark, I haven't seen any Green Shieldbug nymphs with black abdomens. It is possible they are the Southern Green Shieldbug, check you photos for possible adults. http://www.britishbugs.org.uk/heteroptera/idcards/life_stage... http://www.britishbugs.org.uk/heteroptera/Pentatomidae/nezar... I can't say for sure who the eggs belong to but they are shieldbugs. I see Ashley has some nice photos on Flickr too, yes they are a great set of drawings and helpful for ID. |
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| Thanks for all the info you've given me above. I'll check it out after tea... I'm wilting a bit 'cos I didn't get to bed until about three o'clock this morning and I need to have a nap. I got a bit carried away with my bugs last night... you know how it is... I sent Ashley a picture of Vee in all her glory and she was surprised to see a pregnant greenie so early in the year. The pics of the tiny instars above are also on Flickr, so I might ask her about those too, but not until I've had a look at all your links. I'm glad they're shield bug eggs, they are the only ones I've ever found! I've just checked my folders and I still have quite a lot of greenies to edit, but they're mostly of Scar and Vee. I've got news about them too... tell you later. Back to the dark ones... I have a pic of a "dark form" nymph that someone remarked on on Flickr... I'll dig that out for you too. I also have a pic of a greenie sitting on me in my self-portrait set. I thought at the time that it was VERY brightly coloured. It flew off as suddenly as it landed and I didn't see it again. That doesn't mean, of course, that it wasn't in the garden somewhere, does it? Your comment about the instars on the fuchsia reminded me of a long involved conversation I had about Woundwort Shield Bugs. One year I had dozens of them on one of my... buddleias! I wonder if they get fed up with being so close to the ground on woundwort?! Of course I got everyone in a complete muddle 'cos I forgot that what we call self-heal IS woundwort! Duh! It was really funny! I have self-heal/woundwort growing all over the place. It started in the lawn and I encouraged it into the borders.I've found my pics of the adult Dock Bugs, plus some "family groups." I love to watch the way they interact, they look as if they are "talking" to each other. They certainly do things like gently touch each on their antennae and look intently at each other. I wonder if they have a language of their own. In quite a few of my pics you can see the bugs feeding on the raspberries. All these pics were taken last year too. Haha! That's funny... DOCK bugs on RASPBERRIES! Oh, I do hope you get some in your garden so that you can watch them too.       |
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