The Most Alien Looking Caterpillars on Earth

re: The Most Alien Looking Caterpillars on Earth

Heather Marsh — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:03:43 GMT

A cherished childhood memory......at 10years old I had a marvellous teacher who always had living creatures in the classroom. At one stage there was a terrarium full of milkweed plants.

Tiny green caterpillars appeared from eggs on the leaves. After eating lots of milkweed, cocoons were made. These cocoons were beautiful to see - a lovely green with gold and black dots.

Eventually we were able to see the Monarch butterfies emerge and pump up their wings.

re: The Most Alien Looking Caterpillars on Earth

charmela — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 22:18:48 GMT

The 6th one down looks like a tomato worm. I have some of those on my tomato vines. They eat a LOT. Always have to pick them off and dispose of them, otherwise we would have nothing left.

re: The Most Alien Looking Caterpillars on Earth

curbin — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:58:04 GMT

Amazing how one can look at the symetrical design of everything in nature down to the DNA structure and still be so arrogant and narrowminded to believe that it just happened out of nothing. There just has to be a designer. I guess we could call the designer "God".

re: The Most Alien Looking Caterpillars on Earth

Luisa1 — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 09:59:47 GMT

These are amazing.. What would also be neat would be to see what they will all turn into.. !!

re: The Most Alien Looking Caterpillars on Earth

simple_don — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 20:45:41 GMT

(I thought I would add some captions to the amazing photos. See if they remotely reflect what you see.)

1] “HEY! YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME PAL?!?”

2] “Would you mind. I’d like a little privacy please.”

3] “Well I nev… I go to all this trouble to look inconspicuous, and you hit me with a strobe. The nerve of some people.”

4]“ Silly photographer thinks I’m a caterpillar. I wonder what he’ll do when I bloom and turn into a pinecone?”

5] “Just a little closer. That’s it. Come to papa.”

6] “Take me to your leader. NOW!”

7] (my mother-in-law) “Don, there I was, driving home from the AA meeting and my car stalls right in front of this liquor store… so ..”

8] “Forget the small talk and just kiss me Big Boy. Lay a wet one on me right here handsome.”

9] “WAIT! WAIT! WAIT! I’m not ready. Wait. Just a little turn and, ok… ‘CHEEEEESE!’”

10] “My wife is never going to believe this.”

11] “CALLING ALL CARS! CALLING ALL CARS!”

12] “he can’t see me. he can’t see me. he ca…. oH BUGGER! I feel some blue coming on.”

13] “… and I like mud-wrestling and rope rappelling. I also like long slow bare-foot walks in the grass. My turn-offs are guys with hairy backs and behinds… yeeeks!”

14] “… and please don’t let this idiot write something stupid about me…”

15] “I love you I love you I love you I love you I.., do. I do. Mmmmmmmwah!”

re: The Most Alien Looking Caterpillars on Earth

MikeGPrice — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 18:04:43 GMT

The fourth one down from top isn't a caterpillar at all but a plant, itlooks like a willow.

re: The Most Alien Looking Caterpillars on Earth

TS Mommy — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 17:28:05 GMT

Super bummed that there aren't labels identifying what kind of caterpillar they are! I LOVE the one that looks like a guinea pig!

re: The Most Alien Looking Caterpillars on Earth

Running_Stick — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 15:20:36 GMT

Wow, pass the salt and pepper I am getting hungry! Well . . . . . maybe I should wait and see what kind of beautiful butterflies emerge.

re: The Most Alien Looking Caterpillars on Earth

GreenKaya — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 11:38:05 GMT

Yeah this doesnt do anything for my bug phobia lol But they were some very interesting pictures!!!

re: The Most Alien Looking Caterpillars on Earth

Heather Marsh — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 08:10:41 GMT

This link might work better:www.flickr.com/.../815926437

re: The Most Alien Looking Caterpillars on Earth

CancerTreatment — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 08:09:28 GMT

Wow great pictures. You wouldn't want these creatures to crawl over your skin.

re: The Most Alien Looking Caterpillars on Earth

Heather Marsh — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 08:03:22 GMT

Mum and dad had a vine covered patio area, and so we always had lots of caterpillars. At once stage I had a misformed butterfly as a pet - she had fallen from her cocoon and hurt herself so that her wings remained flabby little stumps. Unfortunately the sugar- water on which she happily fed also attracted the ants :(

What gives me the shudders is some of the caterpillar species here collect together in huge clumps - you can actually be hurt if one of these clumps fall on you. Each individual caterpillar is quite large.

And they secret nasty stuff - their nickname is spitfire caterpillar.

images.google.com.au/imgres(Spitfire%2520caterpillars)%2520Perga%2520sp.%25202.jpg&imgrefurl=www.ozladym.com/.../images%3Fq%3Dspitfire%2Bcaterpillars%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4WZPA_enAU318%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1

re: The Most Alien Looking Caterpillars on Earth

gsmith_3 — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 07:38:02 GMT

Wow.... some of these do look weird. As kids my friends and I use to play with the little black caterpillars. They were black and looked like a little hairy mustache. We'd pick them up at ease. A couple of years ago we had one come into our house and we just picked it up and took it outside near some plants. We've never had an any problems with them. We just thought they were so cute. We were in So. California then. Now Scorpions are another matter. Scorpions came in our home after we moved to Tucson, AZ. They along with spiders freak me out!

re: The Most Alien Looking Caterpillars on Earth

ironmaiden — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 10:15:59 GMT

Creatures so strange you couldn't make them up! When I was a kid we used to play with hairy caterpillars, they were quite common here in England. Then all of a sudden they were poisonous and caused horrible rashes, at first no one knew what was happening but it was finally traced to the caterpillars. I think it just about coincided with DDT spraying in the early sixties. These days they not so common and mostly they are bald and green. My brother grew one which I found in my organic lettuce. All winter long we watched the pupa develop with wings and eyes and antennae. Then in spring the case opened and out crawled a parasitic wasp. Nasty!