Caterpillars of Eastern Forests
Variable Oakleaf Caterpillar (Lochmaeus manteo)
Body green and white often with wine red dorsal markings, sometimes entirely reddish; pattern variable. Head large with 2 conspicuous lateral bands, upper black and lower white, thicker; abdomen with thin dorsal line and broader white subdorsal stripes, edged inwardly with yellow or black. Small paired warts on dorsum of first and eighth abdominal segments. Elm prominent (L. bilineata) reported to have narrower bands on head. Food: many forest species but especially oaks. Caterpillar: June to October; 2 generations in South; 1 or 2 in North.
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