Caterpillars of Eastern Forests

Smartweed Caterpillar (Acronicta oblinita) [Smeared Dagger Moth]

Pattern highly variable but always handsomely marked: generally dark, with dark or reddish dorsal warts bearing tuft of short bristly setae. Head black, shiny. Dorsum with or without abundant white speckling. Yellow, inverted V-shaped blotches separate white spiracles. Four fine setae extend out from others at either end of body. Food: many forbs, shrubs, and trees. Caterpillar: May to October; 2 or more generations in South, 1 or 2 in North.

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