caterpillar

[Jeff Fengler]

> My daughter was outside playing in her sandbox when we noticed a
> caterpillar on the outside.  I nudged it to see if it was really alive,
> and it curled up--then started leaving.  It was about an inch long,
> maybe slightly longer, kind of beige, slightly darker with some tiny
> black spots on top, seemed to have a darker face, black stripes along
> sides towards the bottom with much lighter stripes underneath.  I tried
> to take photos--they didn't come out great, but I'd be happy to forward
> them along if anyone wants to try to identify!
>
Diane:

>From your description, I'd say what you had was the "infamous" caterpillar
of the Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba), an imported moth from Europe
that has become very common in our area in the past few years.  They feed on
many kinds of low-growing herbaceous plants, such as Dandelion and Common
Plantain.

Jeff Fengler