An interesting thing about looking up caterpillars to identify them. Sometimes something that seems distinctive about a caterpillar, that makes you think it is going to be easy to identify, is actually a feature of a lot of caterpillars, and it's really no help at all.
For instance, let's have a look at today's Backyard Bug of the Day:
At least in looking at the number of prolegs I knew to look in the looper section of my caterpillar guide, Caterpillars of Eastern North America by David L. Wagner. So far so good...
I thought that its weird head shape would make it easy to identify, despite its more or less nondescript color and pattern (or lack thereof). I have seen other caterpillars with heads like this, but never a looper, so I thought maybe this was unique enough to make it stand out among other loopers. Nope. There are several with heads like this. In this shot, you get a good look at its cluster of eyes.
So... what else can we see on this caterpillar to distinguish it from the others in its family of Geometridae?
Ummm...
Maybe that hairy bump?
The best I could come up with is Purplish-Brown Looper, and I am not sure from the pictures if it actually has a head like that. It does have that weird, thick leg thing going on (and the hairy bump, which the book describes as warts).
Very few Other Bugs today:
This robber fly...
... tried to eat this bee, but the bee got away.
Arachnid Appreciation:
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More goldenrod crab spiders:
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